The Jacksonville Jaguars’ playoff hopes are alive after a Week 14 win against the Tennessee Titans.
Standing in the way of the Jaguars increasing those chances are the 10-3 Dallas Cowboys, who are coming to Jacksonville for the first time in 16 years. While a loss wouldn’t completely end the Jaguars’ postseason dream, if it was coupled with a Titans win on Sunday, that’d just about do it.
So what do the Jaguars need to do to pull off the upset over one of the NFC’s top teams? It’d help if these five players showed up in a big way Sunday at TIAA Bank Field:
S Andre Cisco
For the first time since their Week 13 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Jaguars will have safety Andre Cisco roaming the middle of the field.
Cisco’s return after two weeks on the sideline comes at the perfect time with the Cowboys coming to town.
Last weekend — after Dallas almost lost the Houston Texans — Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told reporters that the Jaguars would be wise to follow Houston’s defensive blueprint.
McCarthy said that the Cowboys offense has shown that it’s susceptible against a “vision defense,” which is essentially one that plays deep zones and keeps everything in front.
Whether or not the Jaguars actually follow McCarthy’s advice remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that Cisco will play a massive role in the team’s effort to keep the big-play Cowboys offense in check.
RB Travis Etienne Jr
It’s been a while since Etienne was much of a factor for the Jaguars offense. After ripping off five straight 100-yard games earlier in the season, including a three-game stretch with four touchdowns, Etienne has only 134 yards in his last four games with only 3.1 yards per carry.
That needs to change Sunday against the Cowboys. While Trevor Lawrence was able to put the team on his back against the Titans last week, asking him to do the same against the No. 2 ranked pass defense of Dallas is a little much.
The Cowboys are 23rd in rush defense and give up the 18th most yards per carry.
It’s past time for the Jacksonville run defense to get back on track. That’s a project for more players than just Etienne, but it’s the Jaguars’ second-year running back who needs to have a productive day statistically.
OT Cam Robinson
The Cowboys are only one sack behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the league lead. There are several pass rushers that have contributed to that total, but none moreso than Defensive Player of the Year favorite Micah Parsons.
The Cowboys’ second-year pass rusher (who happens to be a Trevor Lawrence fan) has 12 sacks through 13 games with three forced fumble and a fumble recovery touchdown.
He’s a game-wrecker, plain and simple, and it’ll be largely up to the Jaguars’ $54 million left tackle Cam Robinson to keep him from wrecking the game.
An effective run game, double teams, and chips from running backs and tight ends are going to be necessary to slow Parsons. But if Robinson doesn’t have a solid showing, it could be a long day for Lawrence and the Jaguars.
OLB Josh Allen
Allen’s streak of eight straight games without a sack finally ended last week when he sacked Ryan Tannehill on the Titans’ last offensive drive of the game.
Was that what he needed to snap out of his funk? The Jaguars can only hope.
With Travon Walker likely out of action Sunday with a high ankle sprain, Jacksonville needs Allen to speed things up for Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys offensive line is expected to have left tackle Tyron Smith making his season debut after a torn hamstring kept him out for the team’s first 13 games. The team will also have a new right tackle in place after losing Terence Steele to a torn ACL.
Jacksonville has to take advantage of that instability and change up front, and that starts with Allen.
ILB Foye Oluokun
The Cowboys offense goes through its run game.
Led by the duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, who have nine rushing touchdowns each this season, Dallas is top 10 in rushing yards, touchdowns, and yards per carry.
If the Jaguars can’t stop the Cowboys from picking up big chunks on the ground, the game will get ugly fast.
That starts with the defensive line trio of Roy Robertson-Harris, DaVon Hamilton, and Folorunso Fatukasi, but it’s inside linebacker Foye Oluokun who will be most responsible for plugging the gaps as they open.
Oluokun entered Week 15 as the NFL’s leading tackler (the Seahawks’ Jordyn Brooks passed him Thursday) and he should have plenty of chances to rack up more tackles Sunday against the Cowboys.
