A back-and-forth first half for the Jacksonville Jaguars gave way to an onslaught of scoring by the Atlanta Falcons, dooming the teal and black to another preseason loss ahead of the regular season kickoff. The Jaguars’ second string held its own until midway through the third quarter, when their gameplans fell apart on both sides of the ball.
Their ineffective run game stalled out offensive drives on the few opportunities they had to score, and the porous defense allowed two touchdowns on exhausting drives by Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder. After such an amazing effort in the first two quarters, the second-half meltdown at Mercedes Benz Stadium was a disappointing end to a disappointing preseason for Jacksonville.
Here is a quick look at everything that happened in the Jaguars’ final preseason game:
Final score: Jaguars __, Falcons __
The end result for Jacksonville reflected just how poorly they played in the second half. They were inexplicably out-matched in almost every facet of the game over the last two quarters, after playing competent and competitive football in the first two. Atlanta’s four touchdowns were more than enough to put them over the top on the scoreboard, and as the Jaguars’ anemic offense failed to score points in the second half, the outcome became inevitable about mid-way through the fourth quarter.
This will mark their fourth loss of the preseason, including the Hall of Fame game.
Weekly awards
Offensive player of the game:
WR Tim Patrick
Defensive player of the game:
De’Shaan Dixon
Jaguars MVP:
WR Tim Patrick
Best effort:
S Daniel Thomas
Most impressive play:
Daniel Thomas’ incredible interception on the first play from scrimmage.
Quick hitting analysis
- 27 of the Jaguars’ best players didn’t play a single snap in this game after being listed as inactive ahead of the Saturday afternoon matchup.
- E.J. Perry threw his second and third interceptions of the preseason after getting picked once last week against Pittsburgh in a crucial situation that cost Jacksonville the game.
- Tim Patrick continued his run of dominance in the preseason, gaining 103 yards on three catches. He caught every ball he was targeted on.
- Rookie Devin Lloyd recorded five tackles in his first preseason appearance, paving the way for him to enter the regular season with some experience under his belt.
- Promising rookie Snoop Conner gained just 15 yards on 11 carries in the game, which may see him fall on the depth chart next week.
- Jacksonville only got to the quarterback twice, with lineman De’Shaan Dixon and safety Rudy Ford recording sacks in the game.
Up next:
The Jaguars will take a brief hiatus next week before starting the regular season on September 11 in Washington for their Week 1 matchup with the Commanders. They’ll have the benefit of playing with their starters once the games start counting, but won’t have much going for them in terms of momentum as they’ll enter the regular season without a win to their credit in the preseason.
Both Jacksonville and Washington are in the midst of rebuilds, so the Jaguars will likely have an opportunity to pounce on a quick win on the road in Week 1 if they can play fundamentally sound football in all four quarters.
