Jaguars Defense Might Have Hit Ceiling Against Vikings

The Jacksonville Jaguars' defense has struggled at times this season. However, the unit may have played its best game of the season Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown (30) celebrates his interception during the second quarter an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars' 12-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was a tough pill for the Jaguars to swallow after a productive week of practice. Jacksonville's defense entered their matchup against the Vikings knowing it would need one of its best performances of the season to contend with the Vikings.

Linebacker Foyesade Oloukun noted the defense prepared the best it could leading up to the game.

“Always good energy, that's why I give a lot of credit to this team,” Oluokun said. Always get back to the drawing board, get back to the practice field. 

“We practice very hard. We practice with good energy, practice with positivity. Just all the stuff that we practice, have that confidence to have it come into fruition. Keep our heads up, keep our foot on the pedal, and let's get better."

The Vikings completed just under 50 percent of their third-down attempts. However, Oluokun was not satisfied. The veteran linebacker wants more from his teammates on the defensive side of the ball as the offense continues to struggle.

Forcing three turnovers and still not winning the turnover battle is a loss for a team in Jacksonville's shoes. While Oluokun and the Jaguars' defense admirably took responsibility for their shortcomings in the game, the unit forced three turnovers, and the Jaguars' offense turned the ball over three times.

This led to the Vikings dominating the time of possession. Minnesota possessed the ball for over 42 minutes, which is an absurd amount of time for any defense to spend on the field. Still, Oluokun insisted the defense needed to do a better job of getting off the field.

“Yeah, there were a lot of long drives they had, extended drives,” Oluokun said. “Kept them on the field, and we've got to do a better job of getting off on third downs. 

“I think if you get the ball back to your offense in better field position, you're going to help them out. That's our job and we've got to see how we do our job better. 

“No moral victories. I mean, they didn't score a touchdown, but we didn't do exactly what we needed to do to win the game."

Most professional football players are similar to Oluokun and do not believe in moral victories.

However, the Jaguars had a few minor wins on Sunday. While this will not mean much this season, it could mean much moving forward, depending on how much of an overhaul the Jaguars' front offense plans on performing this offseason.

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