Jaguars vs. Giants: Halftime Observations
The Jacksonville Jaguars once again have an uphill climb, trailing the New York Giants 13-11 at halftime.
So, what did we make of the Jaguars' first half and what could it all mean for them moving forward through the rest of the game? We break it down below.
The Jaguars' run defense has shown up.
The Giants seemingly went into the game with the same plan the Colts used to perfection last week -- throw it quickly and often. The Giants' first touchdown drive saw Saquon Barkley carry the ball just once, and it was a run for -4 yards. The Jaguars did allow Daniel Jones to pick up a first-down on a 14-yard run.
On each of the Giants' first several carries, the Jaguars' defense simply dominated. Their front reset the line of scrimmage and forced Barkley to look dead on arrival for many of his carries, while linebackers Devin Lloyd and Foye Oluokun flew to the ball. Overall, the Jaguars limited Barkley to 18 yards on nine carries, with 10 of those yards coming on one run.
The Jaguars have a cornerback problem
Jacksonville has a talented and ascending young cornerback in Tyson Campbell who very much looks like a No. 1 corner, and he was paid that respect by the Giants as they completely avoided him in the passing game. The other cornerback position, though, is a much different story. Last week it was Shaquill Griffin who was targeted over and over again and eventually gave up far too many plays, this week it was Tre Herndon who was targeted.
Herndon didn't have many bad plays, but his one glaring mistake resulted in points for the Giants. On 2nd-and-14, Herndon was beaten badly downfield by Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton and had no chance of even contesting the deep pass. The Jaguars have one corner spot secured, but the other one looks like a major red flag.
The backfield is now Travis Etienne's
There is clearly a new No. 1 running back in Jacksonville. It has been trending this way in recent weeks as Travis Etienne has continued to look like the most explosive big-play threat the Jaguars have on offense, and this carried over into Sunday as Etienne officially took claim of the backfield. Etienne ran six times for 43 yards, leading the team.
For context, James Robinson didn't touch the field until a 3rd-down near the end of the first quarter -- a play in which Trevor Lawrence ran the ball. JaMycal Hasty and Zay Jones also recorded carries before Robinson, who finished the halfwith zero carries. It has been clear for the last few weeks the Jaguars needed to make Etienne a bigger part of the game-plan, and they did exactly that vs. the Giants.
With that said, could that change in the second-half after Etienne's costly fumble near the goal-line at the end of the second quarter? Etienne had at least 12 yards but seemed either too stubborn to go down or too uncareful with the ball, resulting in a fumble the Jaguars really can't afford.
