Jaguars Duo Among Best in the League During Week 1

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense held one of the best offenses in the National Football League in check nearly the entire game. Two Jaguars' linebackers combined to make one of the best LB duos in the league.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (23) reacts to his third down stop as teammate linebacker Devin Lloyd (33) looks on during the second quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Jki 121822 Cowboys Jags Cp 14 / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars may not have gotten the desired result in their Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins last week.

However, the Jaguars’ defense undoubtedly played about as good of a game as they could have against the Dolphins, minus a few big plays that helped them swing the game in their favor.

The Jaguars’ defense had multiple players who had productive games against the Dolphins.

Two of those players are linebackers Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun. The two led the team in tackles against the Dolphins, as Oluokon finished the game with 11 and Lloyd with nine.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars were the only team in the NFL to have two linebackers with a PFF grade of 80 or higher in the first week of the season. Lloyd finished with the sixth-best PFF grade of all linebackers in the league, and Oluokon finished with a grade of 80.8.

Both linebackers had two of the best games any linebacker in the league had last week. Coach Pederson says he was impressed with the linebacker unit as a whole. Coach Pederson credited Jaguars’ Inside Linebackers Coach Matt House with a job well done.

“The whole group, as a group, we thought they did a good job, really good job. I thought the communication was really good," Coach Pederson said. "Matt did a good job in terms of what their offense did and gave them some good tips. 

“Foye, Devin, flew around, physical tackles. But then there wasn't a drop-off when the next guy came in. You saw that it was really good. We played down there. Those guys came in, flew around, Chad [LB Chad Muma], you saw Ventrell [LB Ventrell Miller] in the box. They did a good job. They've earned some reps, and so we'll continue that throughout the season.”

As the Jaguars move on to Week 2, they hope their linebacker unit continues to produce at a high level. Having two of the top producers at the position last week shows the potential the Jaguars’ defensive unit has this season. They must continue to do so for the Jaguars to reach their potential this season.

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