The Jaguars continued their NFC road trip in Week 2 but their efforts were equally fruitless against Washington as they had been against the Eagles.
Despite early injuries to both Robert Griffin III and Desean Jackson the Redskins hardly missed a beat with Kirk Cousins and Andre Roberts filling in admirably. With Griffin down for the foreseeable future, Cousins has a chance to establish himself as a starting QB. At one stage he’d completed 16 passes in a row, simply tearing the undermanned Jacksonville secondary to shreds.
There will be tougher tests to come, but this was an important bounce-back game for Jay Gruden’s offense. As for the Jags, the offensive troubles were apparent throughout. Chad Henne held onto the ball for far too long, and behind the Jags' offensive line, that ultimately led to a whopping 10 sacks. With rookie wide receivers dropping passes, this quickly became a day to forget for Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Performances of Note
Josh Evans, S: +3.3
Breakdown: With an injury to Jonathan Cyprien, Evans has been forced into action. He responded extremely well after a difficult Week 1. The former Gator was all over the field in this one, especially in coverage, where he looked the only defensive back capable of stopping the Redskins’ passing game. Overall, he allowed three of five targets to be completed for 38 yards with a pass deflection. Evans also contributed in the run game with four stops and just the single missed tackle.
Signature Stat: Evans was the only Jag to get his hands on the football against Washington.
Cameron Bradfield, RT: -5.1
Breakdown: After a promising start to his NFL career, Bradfield’s performances have dipped significantly. He’s graded in the red in 11 of his past 17 starts with just one performance in the green. After giving up a sack and two hurries in Week 1, Bradfield gave up three sacks, a hit and two hurries against the Redskins’ dangerous outside linebackers. He also graded negatively in the run game and committed a penalty.
Signature Stat: Bradfield’s Pass Blocking Efficiency of 89.5 is the lowest in the league (amongst tackles) through two games.
Chris Clemons, DE: -5.5
Breakdown: Gus Bradley unsurprisingly targeted defensive lineman he knew well this offseason. One of those signed from his former team was Clemons who will need to produce more than this to repay the faith placed in him by his head coach. Trent Williams is a tough matchup for any pass rusher, but the former Seahawk was shutout on 34 rushes. In fact, the last time Clemons was shutout came in the Wildcard game in 2012, against Washington. He struggled as a run defender too, with the Redskins taking advantage of his ill-discipline on the read option and end-arounds.
Signature Stat: Clemons failed to make any defensive stops but missed a tackle.
Washington Redskins – Performances of Note
Kirk Cousins, QB: +2.1
Breakdown: Coming in cold isn’t always the easiest thing to do but Cousins responded extremely well. He showed good accuracy and passes consistently came out on time. Cousins was the beneficiary of a good day by the Redskins’ offensive line — he was under pressure on just five of 35 drop-backs — but he still had to take advantage. Under pressure, Cousins completed all three attempts while taking two sacks.
Signature Stat: Cousins completed eight of nine attempts for 97 yards over the middle.
Niles Paul, TE: +3.3
Breakdown: Paul is getting extended action with Jordan Reed injured and he’s taking his opportunity. The converted wide receiver was a threat not only in the passing game but also in the running game. He graded in the green in that department (+1.1) with particular success at the second level. In the passing game he caught eight of 10 targets for 99 yards with a touchdown and drop.
Signature Stat: Through two weeks, Paul leads all tight ends with 3.85 Yards per Route Run.
DeAngelo Hall and David Amerson, CBs: -2.9 and +3.2, respectively
Breakdown: Washington’s corners had contrasting days against the Jags. Hall summed up his day by simply failing to cover Allen Hurns in man coverage leaving him wide open for a huge gain, only to be saved by the rookie dropping the pass. He also missed a tackle on a screen. Strangely, Jacksonville failed to target him significantly, instead going after Amerson who allowed just six completions on 10 targets for 45 yards with a pass deflection.
Signature Stat: When targeted, the passer rating against Amerson was just 70.8.
PFF Game Ball
Both David Amerson and Niles Paul have strong claims but ultimately Paul’s complete performance earns it for him.
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