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quarterback Tom Savage’s arm was moving
forward at the time he lost the ball. In the
third quarter, second-year linebacker Myles
Jack intercepted Watson near the end zone, but
a Fowler illegal use of hands penalty nullified
the pick, and the Texans scored a touchdown
on the next snap.
The Jaguars were near the bottom of the league
last year in turnover ratio, or plus-minus. A +4
start is an impressive beginning.
3. THE JAGUARS WERE TOUGHER THAN THE TEXANS.
The win in Houston is some validation for
Coughlin and Marrone’s philosophy of camp
and the preseason. Day-after-day of full-
pads practices, post-practice sprints, long
schedules at the team facility during training
camp all instilled the work ethic that the
team’s leadership felt was needed to become a
winning organization.
Part of that is a physical nature; dominate the
man lined up across from you and put him
where you want him to go. For the most part,
the Jaguars did that throughout the game last
Sunday.
Another sign of toughness came after the
Texans scored at the start of the third quarter
to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 19-7. The offense
answered with a balanced 10-play, 75-yard
touchdown drive to extend the lead to 26-7. At
the first sign of adversity, the Jaguars showed
the mental toughness to answer immediately,
and effectively end the game.
The Jaguars were called for 10 penalties for
89 yards, the only true blemish in a game
thoroughly in control from start to end.
FINAL ANALYSIS
The Jaguars defense is a hard-hitting group and
they take the ball away. The Jaguars offense
is dominant in the run game and can answer
in key moments. Is it just one game? Is it the
start of a trend?
Who knows, but the fact remains that the
Jaguars have a 1-0 record and are in first place
alone in the AFC South.
It’s been a long week. Enjoy it, and enjoy
today’s game.