The Jacksonville Jaguars had it all on the line in a Week 18 road game against the Tennessee Titans and fell flat.
Despite allowing Derrick Henry to run wild for much of the day, the Jaguars had a chance to steal the game late. But a Trevor Lawrence lunge for the end zone fell came up just an inch or two short and a deep heave to Calvin Ridley in the final minutes went off the receivers’ fingertips.
The season-saving play the Jaguars desperately needed never came and the team’s once-promising year came to an end in Nashville.
Who was most to blame for the loss, and who played well, despite the final score? The analysts at Pro Football Focus graded every player in the 28-20 loss for the Jaguars. Here’s who stood out most:
5 highest grades on offense
- RB Travis Etienne Jr: 77.0
- RG Brandon Scherff: 73.8
- LT Cam Robinson: 71.6
- WR Calvin Ridley: 70.0
- QB Trevor Lawrence: 68.1
While Etienne struggled to get going and the duo of Ridley and Lawrence couldn’t connect late, those three players all landed in the top five for an offense that didn’t have many good grades.
5 lowest grades on offense
- LG Ezra Cleveland: 42.5
- TE Brenton Strange: 47.5
- WR Zay Jones: 52.9
- TE Luke Farrell: 53.6
- WR Parker Washington: 54.2
In what may have been his final audition for the starting guard job in 2023, Cleveland looked much more like a liability than a player the Jaguars should be pushing to keep.
5 highest grades on defense
- LB Devin Lloyd: 80.1
- S Andre Cisco: 79.2
- CB Darious Williams: 74.6
- OLB Josh Allen: 68.6
- DL Jeremiah Ledbetter: 63.9
Lloyd earning the highest grade on the team is pretty surprising, especially considering he earned a team-high 90.7 grade against the run.
5 lowest grades on defense
- LB Foye Oluokun: 27.8
- DL Folorunso Fatukasi: 35.6
- S Rayshawn Jenkins: 39.0
- DL Adam Gotsis: 45.4
- DL DaVon Hamilton: 50.1
Stopping the run isn’t going to happen if run-stuffers like Fatukasi, Gotsis, and Hamilton all land in the bottom five. Oluokun’s struggles in the middle of the defense were costly too.
5 other notables
- RB Tank Bigsby: 72.7 (9 snaps)
- DB Antonio Johnson: 62.0
- CB Tyson Campbell: 61.8
- OLB Travon Walker: 52.2
- WR Elijah Cooks: 50.0 (9 snaps)
After struggling for much of his rookie season, Bigsby looked like a confident and decisive back late in the year. He only got three carries Sunday, but bruised his way to 16 yards.
