Could Return of Premier Defender Boost Jaguars' Defense?

With Darnell Savage now back in the lineup, what can he do to improve the Jacksonville Jaguars' pass defense?

Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios (0) dives but cannot make a catch against Jacksonville Jaguars safety Darnell Savage (6) during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

While the Jacksonville Jaguars were basking in their first win of the season in Sunday's 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, it was apparent as soon as the game was over that the Jaguars still had serious issues.

The issues, for now, are directly on the defensive side of the ball. The Jaguars have been giving up explosive plays since Week 1, but they are not giving up completions and first downs at a higher rate than ever before. And in Week 5, it almost cost them their first win of the season.

The Jaguars currently rank No. 32 in EPA/Drop Back and No. 26 in success rate on passing downs. In short, there isn't a defense in the NFL that has been more inefficient against the pass on a down-to-down basis.

The passing woes were seemingly at a tipping point when Josh Allen shredded the Jaguars in Week 3 ... and then C.J. Stroud did it a week later. And then in Week 5, aging backup quarterback Joe Flacco threw for over 350 yards and evaporated the Jaguars' 14-point lead in just five plays in the fourth quarter thanks to some deep bombs to Alec Pierce.

With that said, there could soon be two solutions to the Jaguars' woes that don't involve the return of Tyson Campbell.

One of those solutions is the return of veteran defensive back Darnell Savage, who the Jaguars signed this offseason to be a versatile chess-piece in the secondary. Savage has made plays again and again, and his three-game absence was a void in the middle of the defense.

Savage returned against the Colts, though, and was far and away the Jaguars best defensive back in their first win.

“I thought he played good. I mean, he came out late in the game a couple of times. He could feel his injury kind of, but nothing to set him back," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday.

"I thought he played just how we asked him to play and made a few plays out there. I thought within the structure of, played probably a little bit more zone yesterday than previous weeks, and that's a strength of his. But I think just having his leadership out there, his veteran presence really paid off for those guys yesterday.”

Aside from Savage, the Jaguars could also be tweaking their scheme a bit as the season goes on -- and as long as they go on without their top cornerback in Tyson Campbell. The Jaguars had more zone and two-high safety looks against the Houston Texans in Week 4 than they did in any of the previous three games, and Flacco conceded that the Jaguars repeated the strategy in Week 5.

“Yeah. They did. I think last week they started to play a lot of shell against Houston, and this week they played a bunch of different stuff against us, and they did play a ton of shell, and they were making us -- I mean you saw it, it was frustrating to a certain extent," Flacco said after the game.

"They were making us take one-yard, two-yard completions, ah, did I miss something there, should I have thrown that down the field? You know, I don't know. Those are some of the questions you start asking yourself, but I think we did a good job staying patient, and then this is the kind of game it ended up being, but yeah, they did a good job of making us go the long, hard way. I think we had a 16-play drive for one of those touchdowns. That's not the easiest way to do it.”

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