Story by
Jacksonville Jaguars report card shows failing grades across the board vs. LA Rams
- Story by
- Jacksonville Jaguars report card shows failing grades across the board vs. LA Rams
Report card for the Jacksonville Jaguars ' 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 19 at Wembley Stadium in London .
The Jaguars will be off this week and next play on Nov. 2 at the Las Vegas Raiders .
Advertisement
Offense: F
The dismal performance by the Jaguars' offense was symbolized on the first play of their first-half possessions: Trevor Lawrence sacked (loss of 3 yards), holding penalty on Patrick Mekari (his fourth of the season), Lawrence sacked (for no gain), incomplete pass, incomplete pass.
An ongoing issue is getting the ball to Travis Hunter where he's in position to make plays. The Jags seemingly forgot he was in uniform until the final drive of the first half when they used him on a reverse to the short side of the field on 2nd and 6 from the L.A. 10 that had no chance (he lost 1 yard), then a pass in the flat that was broken up, but Hunter likely would have been shoved down short of the first-down marker even if he had caught it.
Hunter got more involved in the third period with a couple of first downs and then hauled in his first NFL touchdown in the fourth period.
Advertisement
Yeah, it was a wet field and a wet ball, but Lawrence threw high and wild, and buried short passes into the ground. Of course, there were the obligatory drops, two by Brian Thomas Jr., and others by Johnny Mundt and Parker Washington .
The offensive line had another terrible day, allowing seven for the second week in a row. Prior to last week against Seattle , Lawrence's career sacks in one game was five. After allowing only three sacks in the first four games, the Jags have yielded 17 in the last three.
Not that anyone noticed, but the running game didn't generate much because the Jaguars fell behind so quickly. But they still ran for only 19 yards on seven attempts before the Rams took a 21-0 lead. Oddly enough, the Jaguars ran the ball for 4.9 yards per attempt for the game, but it mattered little.
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Kyren Williams of Los Angeles Rams (#23) is pushed out of bounds by Ventrell Miller of Jacksonville Jaguars (#51) during the NFL 2025 game between Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 19, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Defense: F
No Puka Nacua ? No problem, as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford dinked and dunked his way down the field at will on the way to touchdowns on the team's first two possessions on drives of 60 and 79 yards to set the tone for the game. Stafford, who threw five TD passes, used his seventh receiver by the Rams' 18th offensive play and he was 15 of 20 for a passer rating of 130.6 in the first half.
Advertisement
The Jaguars failed to force a turnover for the second game in a row and both of those games, vs. the Rams and the loss last week to Seattle , answered a question: How will the defense play straight-up, without the help of turnovers?
The answer: not very good.
The pass rush remains non-existent. Where, oh where, is Josh Hines-Allen? Yes, he's getting chipped and double-teamed but coordinator Anthony Campanile needs to find ways for him to break loose. Travon Walker still seems slowed by his wrist injury and got only 24 snaps and had an assisted tackle.
Special teams: D
How about a 27-yard punt on Logan Cooke's first attempt, giving the Rams a 60-yard field for their first possession? Or Cam Little's hooked 50-yard field-goal attempt?
Advertisement
Yeah, the penalty on Jarrian Jones to nullify Washington's 62-yard punt return was bogus, so the execution on that play is the only reason the special teams is not getting an F.
Cooke did rally from that feeble first attempt for a 62-yarder to the Rams' 8 (that was returned 13 yards) and two shorter kicks that were held inside the 12-yard line. But he then hit a marginal punt of 46 yards to the Rams' 38. And Little made a conversion kick after a streak of nearly 200 in a row through high school, college and the NFL came to an end against Seattle.
Putting Dyami Brown on kickoff returns with Washington was a new wrinkle, with rookie running backs Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen yanked from the rotation. It was six of one and half a dozen of the other.
Intangibles: F
Apparently, there is no tried and true plan for the best time for an NFL team to arrive in London. The well-rested Jaguars were lethargic while the supposedly jet-lagged Rams were sharp from the beginning on both sides of the ball. NFL coaches will probably tinker with variations of the timing for as long as the NFL International Series lasts.
Advertisement
Rams coach Sean McVay also clearly had his team better prepared with a better game plan, especially on offense, without Nacua. The answer was to spread the ball out and 10 players caught passes from Stafford.
The Jaguars also go into the bye week with a lot of soul-searching to do. Is this the team that sleepwalked through the second half of the 2023 season and all of last year? Or is the team that gutted out victories over Kansas City and Houston , and San Francisco on the road?
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars report card as gloomy as London weather in loss
