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What we learned about Jacksonville Jaguars in Liam Coen, Travis Hunter debut
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- What we learned about Jacksonville Jaguars in Liam Coen, Travis Hunter debut
Four questions and attempted answers from the Jaguars' 23-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday:
First Down
Question:How were the Jaguars able to create two first-half turnovers after forcing only nine in 17 games last year?
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Answer:Team efforts.
Early in the second quarter, Carolina had second-and-1 from its 25. Quarterback Bryce Young tried to throw to receiver Xavier Legette , but safety Eric Murray deflected the football into the air and linebacker Foye Oluokun made the interception at the Panthers' 35. The Jaguars made it 10-3 on the ensuing drive.
JAGUARS REPORT CARD: Defense shows toughness, offense shines vs. Panthers
Late in the second quarter, Young scrambled on third-and-10, but Oloukun forced the fumble that was recovered by cornerback Jourdan Lewis . The Jaguars turned that takeaway into a 47-yard field goal and a 20-3 halftime lead.
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In one half of one game of the season, the Jaguars were 22.2% toward last year's takeaway total.
Second Down
Question:How many things went right on Jaguars running back Travis Etienne 's career-best 71-yard run?
Answer:A ton of things. The Jaguars led Carolina 10-3 with 3:39 left in the second quarter and had a first down play from their 9-yard line.
Etienne took the handoff. Tight end Brenton Strange had the key first block — a "wham" block — in which he ran from right to left and whammed linebacker D.J. Wonnum .
As Wonnum fell to the turf, safety Tre'von Moehrig took the wrong gap, thinking Etienne would bounce his rush outside. Etienne instead cut inside.
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Safety Nick Scott missed a tackle attempt of Etienne at the 19.
Etienne had an escort in the form of receiver Dyami Brown , who shielded linebacker Trevin Wallace at the 50. Only linebacker Christian Rozeboom's ankle tackle saved a touchdown.
The Jaguars made it 17-3 three plays later on receiver Brian Thomas Jr. 's 9-yard touchdown run (the first of his career).
Third Down
Question: What kind of staying power does new coach Liam Coen's aggressiveness have?
Answer:Plenty … so long as his gambles keep paying off, right?
It started with the coin toss, when the Jaguars won and elected to take the football. It led to a 3-0 lead.
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On the first drive, the Jaguars had fourth-and-1 from their 37-yard line. Time for a punt? Nope. Coen called for a jet sweep run by receiver Dyami Brown, which gained 5 yards.
In the fourth quarter, the smart play on fourth-and-1 from the Panthers' 34 and up 20-3 was to go for it and Tank Bigsby gained 3 yards.
Going for it on fourth down inspires confidence and belief in your players.
Fourth Down
Question:What did we learn about the Jaguars in the win?
Answer:A bunch of things, mostly good and a few concerning.
The good was led by a running game that Etienne's 100-yard game, but also Lawrence's willingness to scramble for yards (two for 14 yards). Also, all four running backs saw action.
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The obvious one were the takeaways on defense, but also stopping the Panthers on fourth down to halt a red zone possession.
The not-so-good was Cam Little 's two poor kickoffs (one that went out of bounds and one that failed to reach the landing zone), giving Carolina a starting point of the 40-yard line. Additionally, the Jaguars were called for 11 penalties.
Overall, if the Jaguars are as improved as we think, this is game they should win and the bonus was that they were in control for most of the final three quarters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars top Panthers: What we learned in season opener win
