The Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off their 2023 season with a win Sunday, beating the Indianapolis Colts, 31-21.
The 10-point Week 1 victory didn’t come easy, though. The Colts took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter and the Jaguars needed a couple touchdowns late in the game to snatch away the victory.
Buy Jaguars TicketsAt Pro Football Focus, every Jaguars player was graded for their effort in the game against the Colts.
Here are the Jaguars players who stood out and struggled most on Sunday, according to PFF:
5 highest grades on offense
- QB Trevor Lawrence: 86.3
- WR Calvin Ridley: 76.0
- WR Zay Jones: 74.1
- RB Travis Etienne Jr: 73.3
- TE Evan Engram: 68.4
It was far from a perfect day for the Jaguars offense, but they’re clearly in good hands with Lawrence under center. The third-year passer had the third best grade among all NFL quarterbacks Sunday, behind only Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford.
Lawrence’s potent arsenal of playmakers weren’t too far behind.
5 lowest grades on offense
- RB Tank Bigsby: 30.0
- OL Tyler Shatley: 38.7
- TE Brenton Strange: 41.9
- C Luke Fortner: 48.0
- G Ben Bartch: 48.1
Bigsby’s rough day boiled down mostly to two crucial mistakes. The rookie running back dropped a pass right into the waiting arms of a Colts defender and he recovered a fumble only to casually stand as linebacker Zaire Franklin punched it free.
But the more concerning issue for the long-term was the rough day for the Jaguars offensive line. That’s reflected in the PFF grades where starters Fortner and Bartch, as well as reserve lineman Shatley all landed in the bottom five.
5 highest grades on defense
- CB Tyson Campbell: 89.2
- OLB Josh Allen: 86.9
- CB Tre Herndon III: 77.0
- ILB Foye Oluokun: 76.6
- S Andre Cisco: 76.4
Campbell’s quick rise to the elite tier of NFL cornerbacks doesn’t look like it’s slowing. He locked down the Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr. for most of the day Sunday and recorded an interception that all but sealed the game. It was his run defense that earned the most praise, though, with a 95.0 grade.
The duo of Allen and Oluokun were also a force up front that made life difficult for rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
5 lowest grades on defense
- S Rayshawn Jenkins: 35.9
- OLB K’Lavon Chaisson: 40.5
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter: 43.3
- OLB Travon Walker: 49.8
- DL Angelo Blackson: 53.1
While Andre Cisco earned high marks on the back-end of the defense, his partner in J-villain-ry, Jenkins, didn’t do the same.
The same can be said for the outside linebackers, who all received poor grades with the exception of Allen. Fifth-round rookie Yasir Abdullah was even lower than this quintet (29.8), but was excluded from the list because he only played six snaps in his NFL debut.
Other notables
- DL Folorunso Fatukasi: 70.5
- ILB Devin Lloyd: 58.7
- OT Walker Little: 68.0
- OT Anton Harrison: 51.8
- LS Ross Matiscik: 80.8
Fatukasi had a mostly unimpressive first year in Jacksonville after joining the Jaguars as a free agent last year. He finished 2022 with a 42.5 grade from PFF and only had three games with a grade above 65. But with DaVon Hamilton out of action and Fatukasi primarily handling nose tackle duties, he was a standout Sunday and wasn’t far off from a top five spot on defense.
On the other hand, the highly anticipated year two for Lloyd didn’t get off to an explosive start. The former first-round pick didn’t make much of an impact, recording only three tackles on the day. He was also credited by PFF with allowing Pittman’s 39-yard touchdown.
Among a lot of hand-wringing about the offensive line’s subpar day, Little quietly had a strong performance in Cam Robinson’s absence, even if his push in the run game wasn’t spectacular. PFF credited him with allowing just one hurry in his 35 pass blocking snaps.
On the other side, Harrison had his hands full with Kwity Paye. He gave up a sack and a hurry, and earned a 41.2 run blocking grade.
Finally, a stellar grade for a long snapper isn’t that consequential. What makes Matiscik’s performance notable is that he’s proven to be a valuable part of the coverage unit in addition to his snapping. On one 52-yard punt from Logan Cooke it was Matiscik who brought down the Colts’ Isaiah McKenzie after a 4-yard return.
