Rams Game Day Newsletter 4 Oct 15th Los Angeles_Digital | Page 61

Y PLANNED IT
DEFENSE, RUN GAME PACING FIRST-PLACE JAG-
UARS AS THEY RETURN TO EVERBANK FIELD
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Jaguars are
3-2 for the fi rst time since the 2010 season
and in fi rst place in October for the fi rst time
since 2004.
Let it soak in. Embrace it. Enjoy it. It’s been
a while.
Last week’s 30-9 win over the Pittsburgh
Steelers on the road was the most meaningful
road-game win for the Jaguars organization
in years, and one of the most dominant
defensive performances in team history.
Some would argue it was the biggest road
win since the 2010 season, when the Jaguars
went into Dallas and beat the Cowboys, 35-
17, to improve to 4-4.
Others say it’s the most important road win
since the 2007 season, when the Jaguars
went to Pittsburgh, twice, and won – once in
the regular season, and again in the playoffs.
Either way, it could be one of the most
important wins of the last decade for the
Jaguars. The only way to truly fi nd out is to
see how the team responds to a big win and
a fi rst-place standing moving ahead, and that
starts today for the Jaguars against the Los
Angeles Rams (3-2) with kickoff scheduled for
4:05 p.m. at EverBank Field.
The Defense
The fi rst-place Jaguars are led by a defense
that had swagger to start the season, but
has backed it up over a majority of the early
part of 2017 with the third-ranked passing
defense.
Last week’s fi ve-interception game off Steelers
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger increased the
Jaguars’ league-leading takeaway total to 15
(10 interceptions, 5 fumbles), and the 2017
Jaguars have already surpassed their takeaway
total for the entire 2016 season (13).
“Turnovers for touchdowns are pretty darn
good, but just the turnovers i n general from
our defense,” Head Coach Doug Marrone said
after last week’s win. “They are hard to come
by in the league, you guys know. You’ve seen
the past and what we have done and they
have done a good job at that.”
The starting secondary has been a ball-
hawking group so far. Cornerback A.J. Bouye
has been a force capable of lining up against
the best the opposition has to offer, adding
interceptions in both the win over the Ravens
in Week 3 and the loss to the Jets in Week
4. He has been a near-perfect complement to
Jalen Ramsey, a second-year cornerback and
former fi rst-round pick turning into a lock-
down cornerback capable of making key plays
to not only make interceptions, but open
up plays for others in the group. Ramsey’s
defl ection of a Roethlisberger pass last week
made Barry Church’s interception return for a
touchdown possible.
Church and Tashaun Gipson are two more free-
agent additions who are fi tting in very well in
a defense that needed help on the back end.