Jaguars' defense one of league's best

Nov 23, 2017 - 5:34 AM JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - It is hard to imagine how much the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense has improved in one season. But numbers don't lie.

A quick comparison of the 14 team defensive categories that the NFL tabulates, shows that the Jaguars have a better mark this season in all but one of the rankings. The only area where the Jaguars are not better is yards allowed per rushing attempt. And the numbers aren't that far apart -- 3.8 a year ago compared to 4.5 yards per carry this year.

Two areas stand out the most -- average total yards allowed and points allowed. A year ago, the Jaguars gave up an average of 321.7 yards per game and 25.0 points per game. Those marks left the Jaguars with the sixth and 25th best marks, respectively.

Compare that to this season. Jacksonville allows an NFL-low 275.6 yards per game and a matching league-low 14.1 points per contest. And those numbers equate to near reversal in won-lost records after 10 games.

A year ago at this time, Jacksonville was in the midst of what would become a nine-game losing streak and was 2-8 after 10 games. It's a stark contrast to 2017 where the Jaguars are currently 7-3 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC South, the first such occurrence since 2007 when they were also 7-3.

Not only are the Jaguars better in 13 of the 14 defensive categories from a year ago, but they are dominating the NFL in 12 categories. Jacksonville ranks first or is tied for first in 10 of the 14 categories, are third in another (interceptions) and fourth in another (point differential). The only two areas where the Jaguars are not among the league leaders are rushing yards allowed per game (16th at 113.6) and rushing yards per attempt (4.5).

It's the aforementioned numbers and rankings that reflect how dominant the Jaguars' defense has been. When you can be the best in the NFL in stopping the pass and recording sacks, it limits what a team can do offensively.

And don't think that stopping the run is a Jaguars weakness. Through seven games the Jaguars were allowing 135 yards a game. But since the arrival of Marcell Dareus to help clog the middle, the Jaguars have allowed an average of 55.3 yards on the ground in the last three contests.

Those are numbers that will concern former Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who will likely get his second straight start for the Arizona Cardinals after injuries to Carson Palmer (broken hand) and Drew Stanton (knee) have sidelined them for recent games.

Gabbert had little success in his three years (2011-13) with the Jaguars after they picked him as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 draft. When he was with the Jaguars, Gabbert had a reputation for having problems against a fierce pass rush. If he has the same problem this Sunday the Cardinals offense will be in serious trouble.

The Jaguars are aware of his past and are likely to bring extra people, even though the front four alone have been adequate in most games as the Jaguars amassed a league-leading 40 sacks.

If the defense comes through as it has most of the time in the first 10 games this season, the Jaguars' offense just needs to be average. That means quarterback Blake Bortles doesn't have to do too much, and he certainly doesn't have to force issues with contested passes. It's partly because of that and how Bortles has played this year that the Jaguars have won seven of their first 10 games.

"I think there's been more good than bad. I think you look at it kind of on a week-to-week basis and say let's win the week," Bortles said. "You go through each day and say let's win the day, let's figure out how we can get better, how we can go out there and execute and if we go mess up or we make mistakes, let's make sure we fix them so we get something out of it to essentially be able to go and execute on Sunday. I think you take those one at a time and you get as many in as you can until the end of the season and hopefully you win a lot more than you lose and you're looking at a chance to play late into January and February."

SERIES HISTORY: 5th regular-season meeting. Series tied, 2-2. This is now one of two teams that the Jaguars have met just four times, the other being San Francisco, their opponent in four weeks. The Los Angeles Rams were also in this group before the teams met earlier this season. Jaguars won the first two meetings (2000, 2005) while the Cardinals have won the last two (2009, 2013). Three of the four games resulted in a winning margin of 13 points or more. The only meeting in Arizona was a 24-17 win by Jaguars in 2005.

--Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles is looking forward to his second trip to the University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday when the Jaguars take on the Arizona Cardinals. Bortles' only other trip to the stadium in Glendale, Ariz., came on New Year's Day in 2014 when his Central Florida team beat Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Even with an 11-1 season coming into the game, UCF was a 16 1/2-point underdog but pulled off an upset of the sixth-ranked Bears. Bortles had a strong game, going 20 of 31 for 301 yards and three touchdowns in what proved to be his final game at UCF. He was named the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player.

"It was awesome," Bortles said this week. "For a mid-major school at the time to get an opportunity to play on that stage was really incredible. We had never played in front of a crowd like that in a place like that. And to then go out there and beat a team that people thought was really good, was pretty cool."

A few days after the game Bortles declared for the NFL draft where he was the No. 3 overall pick by the Jaguars. He'll make his 56th consecutive start for Jacksonville this Sunday.

--Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo may pay the price for what was almost a highlight reel play for him.

In last week's game against the Browns following the Jaguars' first touchdown, the call was issued by head coach Doug Marrone for an onside kick. Lambo was to dribble the ball 10 yards straight down the field, then fall on it.

Lambo did his job, falling on the ball 11 yards from where he kicked it, but reserve linebacker Blair Brown, who lined up adjacent to Lambo, jumped the gun and was a foot beyond the line of scrimmage when Lambo made contact with the ball. The offsides penalty negated the play and forced Lambo to kick the ball normally.

Lambo did his job in falling on the ball but in the process, had several players pile on top of him. He's now battling a right hip injury and while he didn't want to say how or when he was injured, it appears that it did happen following the surprise kickoff. Lambo was pleased with his effort but was disappointed the Jaguars weren't awarded the ball.

"I practiced it a decent amount," he said. "(Special teams coordinator) Joe (DeCamillis) gave me a great point that he learned from another kicker and it worked well for me and I implemented it and it came pretty naturally."

Lambo called the end result "a massive bummer because you want to pull it off and let it stand. But I had to go right back there and kick it off."

--Wide receiver Dede Westbrook didn't fulfill his prediction of a 200-yard receiving game in his NFL debut last Sunday, but just the fact that Westbrook was in action proved to be a win-win for the Jaguars and Westbrook.

The fourth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma led the NFL in receiving in the preseason with 288 yards. But he suffered a core muscle injury late in the preseason and had surgery on Sept. 12, relegating him to injured reserve. That put him on the shelf until at least Week 8. The Jaguars didn't rush him back and it wasn't until this past Sunday that they felt comfortable enough to activate him to the 53-man roster.

Against the Browns, Westbrook caught three passes for 35 yards and should have been credited with another catch for 16 yards after replays showed he had both feet in bounds and control of the ball through his fall out of bounds.

"I honestly thought I was in," Westbrook said. "I watched myself put my other foot down. I thought it was a sure catch."

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone liked what he saw from his rookie receiver, especially the diving 28-yard catch near the sideline. It was the Jaguars' longest pass play of the game.

"Westbrook came in there and he made a big play down the sideline," Marrone said. "He had the opportunity to make another play, but I'm happy with seeing that type of confidence. I liked his effort, I really did. I thought he did a nice job in the blocking aspect of it. He'll get better each time he's out there."

NOTES: T Jermey Parnell did not practice Wednesday due to a knee injury he suffered several weeks ago and may miss his third straight game. ... G Patrick Omameh also missed practice on Wednesday due to a quadriceps injury that kept him out of last week's game against Cleveland. ... WR Allen Hurns was not able to practice on Wednesday due to a sprained ankle he suffered late in the game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He'll likely miss a second straight game this Sunday. ... RB Leonard Fournette returned to practice on Wednesday on a limited basis. Fournette is battling an ongoing ankle injury. ... G Chris Reed had a good week of practice prior to last Sunday's game against Cleveland and earned the start against the Browns. He played well in that game and is likely to get another start on Sunday against the Cardinals if Patrick Omameh is not fully healthy. ... K Josh Lambo was limited in Wednesday's practice with a right hip injury. He did say after Tuesday's practice that "100 percent I feel like I will be able to go (Sunday)." Lambo is the only kicker on the roster. ... FS Tashaun Gipson was limited in Wednesday's practice due to a knee injury. ... LB Donald Payne, who suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday's game against Cleveland, was limited in Wednesday's practice. ... WR Marqise Lee was again limited in Wednesday's practice due to an ongoing knee injury. Lee has not practiced in full for nearly a month yet has started every game this season. ... LB Blair Brown was limited in Wednesday's practice with a hamstring issue.