The leading receiver for the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night was running back Alvin Kamara, who finished with 91 yards on 12 receptions. That came as no surprise to the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, according to safety Rayshawn Jenkins.
“We know that’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna check down, check down, check down,” Jenkins said in the locker room after a 31-24 win. “We just have to win the game down the field and that was the mindset of the DBs. We’ll let him have the check-downs, we’ll come up, rally, tackle that, and get rid of the shot plays.”
While the Saints found an offensive rhythm late in the game, for the most part it was mission accomplished on that front for the Jaguars defense. Carr completed just one pass on the night that gained more than 20 yards, a dump-off to Kamara in the second quarter that went for 21.
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave caught seven of 15 targets for 57 yards and receiver Michael Thomas caught three of his seven targets for 42 yards.
The Jaguars aren’t the first team to defend Carr with that game plan. His now-Saints teammate, Tyrann Mathieu, gave a similar assessment in 2019 after his Kansas City Chiefs beat the Carr-led Oakland Raiders.
“Tight ends, running backs, check-downs, that’s his game,” Mathieu said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We were able to capitalize when he did try to throw it downfield.”
The Jacksonville defense followed a similar path to victory.
