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Week 9 Game Recap: Jacksonville Jaguars 24, New Orleans Saints 41
What you need to know
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
The Jaguars were unable to contain the Saints' offense and as a result had to rely on their passing game in an effort to try to catch up after falling behind, a task made more difficult with starting left tackle Kalif Barnes benched at the beginning of the game by coach Del Rio for violating team rules. The pace was set early with the two teams scoring 17 points apiece in the first quarter, but then New Orleans scored 21 unanswered points, which forced Jacksonville into focusing more on the passing game. As a result, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew had limited opportunities running the ball. Although they both averaged over 4 yards per carry, Taylor and Jones-Drew had 13 and five rushing attempts respectively. They both ran well when their numbers were called, with both of them relying more on power to try to get extra yards than elusiveness. However, Jones-Drew was able to showcase his explosiveness on a kickoff return of 100 yards that ended in a touchdown. Starting guard Chris Naole was injured in the first quarter and carted off the field.
Jacksonville quarterback Quinn Gray struggled with his accuracy on short passes early in the game, but proved comfortable with long passes. Gray connected on several long passes to his receivers, and as a result was able to amass 354 yards with two touchdowns. However, he displayed a propensity to lock onto his primary receiver at times, which contributed to some incompletions as well as three interceptions. Gray appeared to become more comfortable as the game went on, and his accuracy on the shorter passes improved somewhat, but he clearly was more at home launching deep passes. Early in the second quarter he displayed toughness, as he had to leave the game after he was hit and was treated on the sideline for a sprained ankle, but returned on Jacksonville's subsequent series and completed the game. Gray spread the ball among eight different receivers, with the majority of those throws going to his wide receivers. Reggie Williams and Ernest Wilford received the most targets.
Jacksonville only attempted six plays in the red zone, and ran the ball once, scoring a field goal and a touchdown on two of their three trips there. Their third end zone possession ended in an interception. They passed the ball on five of those six possessions, with Jones-Drew the only player to be involved as an offensive option more than once, with one rushing attempt and one target. Wide receiver Dennis Northcutt scored their lone red zone touchdown.
| New Orleans Saints |
The Saints were explosive on offense. New Orleans set an aggressive tone early by calling for, and recovering, an onside kick in the first quarter after they had taken a 3-0 lead. The ensuing possession ended with a touchdown. They placed great emphasis on their passing attack, which proved to be very successful, but ran the ball enough to keep the Jaguars off balance. Reggie Bush had 17 of the 23 rushing plays that were called, and proved up to the task. Many of Bush's carries were up the middle, and he did not shy away from contact, showing good leg drive in getting extra yards after the initial hit by dragging defenders along. He did not try to bounce plays outside to use his speed, but challenged defenders by running at them on the majority of his rushes. Bush was also a factor in the passing game with seven receptions, and was up to the task of being a complete lead running back, scoring a touchdown apiece running and receiving.
New Orleans' passing game was simply electric. They contributed to the Saints tying their franchise record for number of first downs in a game with 32 first downs. The orchestrator of this offensive explosion was Drew Brees. Brees put up some staggering numbers as he followed the game plan, which was to focus on intermediate throws and make those, throws quickly. He did an excellent job of identifying which receiver was his best option and usually threw a pass that was right on the money. Brees attempted 49 passes and of his 14 incompletions, five were either a result of him intentionally throwing the ball away or deflected at the last minute by a Jaguars' defender. Brees routinely hit his receivers in stride, which enabled them to gain several yards after catching the ball. He threw a variety of passes well, and used nine different receivers, targeting Marques Colston the most, throwing 14 passes to him, 12 of which were in the first half. Brees' numbers could have been even gaudier, as Colston and Billy Miller were both knocked out of bounds just before they could get into the end zone. In addition, a pass to Lance Moore in the end zone was deflected at the last minute and he missed Bush open in the end zone in a rare inaccurate passing moment.
The Saints had five possessions in the red zone, and scored touchdowns on four of those possessions. On the fifth, Brees fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Jacksonville. New Orleans ran ten plays in the red zone, splitting the running and passing plays at five apiece. Bush received all of the red zone and goal line carries, and scored his rushing touchdown from one yard out. Colston was targeted twice in the red zone, yet ironically the other three red zone passes were all caught for touchdowns by three different receivers.
What you ought to know
| QB Quinn Gray, Pass: 20 - 33 - 354 - 2 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 3 - 6 - 0 |
Gray showed ease and high comfort level with throwing deep passes, and as a result of completing some of them, garnered a lot of passing yards. However he made some bad and inaccurate throws, which caused him to have three interceptions and miss receivers who were open at other times. Although he was inconsistent, Gray showed if given time to throw he could make some big plays in the deep passing game. He attempted the majority of his passes from the pocket and did not show much of an inclination to scramble when his protection broke down.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 13 - 54 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Taylor ran very well, using more power than quickness in taking on the Saints' defenders. He too had limited opportunities due to the Jaguars having to rely on the passing game to try to catch up after giving up 21 unanswered points, and this limited his productivity. He was solid when he ran the ball, averaging just over four yards per carry. Taylor was involved on one play in the red zone, but did not have any other opportunities close to the end zone.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 5 - 28 - 0, Rec: 2 - 31 - 0 (4 targets) |
Jones-Drew ran very effectively with the few touches he had, averaging over five yards per rush, over 15 yards on his two receptions and returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Gray missed him on the two targets that were incompletions, as he was open both times. A lack of touches hindered Jones-Drew's productivity.
| RB Greg Jones, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Jones was used mostly as a blocking fullback, and only had one carry, which resulted in a yard being lost.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 6 - 128 - 1 (8 targets) |
Williams had his best game of the season, taking advantage of Gray looking for him frequently and making plays, including an 80 yard touchdown pass where he caught a deep pass in stride and outran the defenders to the end zone. Williams showed good hands and route running but committed a gaffe at one point when he cost his team 15 yards by incurring an unsportsmanlike penalty after catching a pass for a first down.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 3 - 46 - 0 (6 targets) |
Wilford was only targeted once in the first half, but was utilized more in the second half, and proved adept at getting open on short to intermediate routes, but did not have any big gains.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 15 - 1 (3 targets) |
Northcutt was used mostly on intermediate routes, and one reverse running play. He was the primary receiver on the one reception he made, where he turned a short pass in the red zone into a touchdown by utilizing his shiftiness to elude defenders and get into the end zone.
| WR John Broussard, Rec: 2 - 71 - 0 (4 targets) |
Broussard was targeted deep on three of his four targets. He showed impressive speed in getting open deep. One of the incompletions thrown in his direction was underthrown and another one was intercepted. He was by far the most-targeted receiver on deep routes.
| WR Matt Jones (2 targets) |
Jones was not involved much, and did not have any receptions, although one of his targets was thrown to him in the end zone, but was intercepted.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 4 - 46 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lewis ran intermediate routes well and showed good hands in catching some passes in traffic. He proved to be a good outlet receiver in the second half, as three of his targets came in that half when the Jaguars placed more of an emphasis on the passing game.
| TE George Wrighster, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wrighster's lone reception came with less than one minute remaining in the game.
| PK John Carney 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Carney connected on all three of his point after attempts, and made his only field goal attempt, which was from 30 yards.
| JAX Rush Defense |
The Jaguars rush defense was not dominant. Although they were not pushed around by the Saints' offensive line, they were unable to produce many stops for negative yardage and seemed to go backwards before stopping New Orleans' running backs. Part of that could be attributed to Jacksonville's defenders being kept off balance due to the high number of passes that were attempted.
| JAX Pass Defense |
Jacksonville's pass defense was inept, in large part to the brilliance of Drew Brees. The Jaguars gave up the most yards ever in a game, and the majority of those yards came via the pass. They were unable to adjust to the Saints' quick hitting passing, and as such were strafed. The Jaguars were unable to apply much pressure to Brees and as a result the secondary was taxed and allowed the high number of yards and points they did.
| QB Drew Brees, Pass: 35 - 49 - 445 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Brees was superb. He executed the game plan very well, and made excellent decisions in where to throw the ball and when. He threw all the passes asked of him easily and accurately for the most part, and was clearly in command of the offense. Thanks to his quick decision-making, he was able to get rid of the ball before the Jaguars' pass rushers could get to him, and usually in the intermediate distance range, not just shorter passes. Brees usually threw the ball where his receivers had the advantage, and as such they were able to gain yards after securing the ball many times. The only significant mistake Brees made was losing a fumble in the second quarter. However, in keeping with the day he and his teammates had, that lost possession was not converted into points for the Jaguars.
| RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 17 - 72 - 1, Rec: 7 - 43 - 1 (8 targets) |
Bush played with great determination, taking on defenders routinely instead of trying to run around them when he carried the ball. When he caught the ball in the passing game, he showed more of an inclination to attempt to use his speed, with moderate success. He was in the game for the majority of the Saints' red zone possessions, and scored touchdowns rushing and receiving. Bush gave a very focused and strong effort throughout the game.
| RB Aaron Stecker, Rush: 6 - 24 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) |
Stecker was used as the relief running back, and made a modest contribution.
| RB Mike Karney, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Karney's contributions were mostly as a fullback.
| WR Marques Colston, Rec: 10 - 159 - 0 (14 targets) |
Colston took advantage of being targeted frequently to post very good numbers, although he did not get into the end zone. He was utilized mostly on intermediate routes and proved adept at picking up yards after securing the pass. He used his size effectively to keep defenders away from him, which combined with his good route running and Brees' pinpoint passing, contributed to his high number of receptions and yards.
| WR David Patten, Rec: 4 - 81 - 1 (6 targets) |
Patten flourished in his starting role, showing good hands and running after the catch to post good numbers. Patten made the most of his opportunities as the two targets he did not catch were thrown out of his reach, intentionally on one occasion.
| WR Lance Moore, Rec: 3 - 26 - 1 (4 targets) |
Moore was targeted twice in the end zone, catching one of those targets for a touchdown and having the other one deflected in the end zone. He showed a knack for getting open on short and intermediate routes.
| WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Henderson was not involved much in the game. He was thrown to deep once, and that pass was overthrown.
| TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) |
Johnson was targeted only during the first half, and used exclusively on short routes. Most of his receptions were in the middle of the field and he was not a factor in the red zone.
| TE Billy Miller, Rec: 3 - 75 - 0 (3 targets) |
Miller was very productive, and came very close to scoring, as he was tackled at the one yard line after taking a short pass and turning it into a 57 yard play. He displayed sure hands while being used on shorter routes.
| PK Olindo Mare 2 - 4 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points |
Mare was kept busy but had mixed results. He made all five of his point after attempts but missed two of four field goal attempts. He made field goals from 46 and 34 yards, but missed from 43 and 52 yards.
| NO Rush Defense |
New Orleans' run defense was not tested much as he Jaguars had to focus on the passing game in an attempt to score quickly. Although they allowed fairly decent yards per carry to Taylor and Jones-Drew, they did not allow any big plays in the running game. Their linebackers provided good support to the linemen, which was a contributing factor in containing Jacksonville's running backs.
| NO Pass Defense |
The Saints' pass defense was aggressive and although they gave up a lot of passing yards, managed to pressure Gray into enough mistakes to prevent the Jaguars from scoring a lot of points. Their pass rush caused Gray to hurry some of his throws, including one that was returned for a touchdown. The Saints secondary gave up some receptions on intermediate and some deep passes, and missed some tackles to allow some additional passing yards to be gained, but overall their overall pass defense turned in a good effort.
