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After an interesting week filled with Jalen Ramsey talk, the Jacksonville Jaguars defense finished the week with a throwback performance. The group led by Pro-Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell, blitzed the rain soaked Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.
Led by Campbell’s three sacks and seven total tackles, the Jaguars won their first game of the season by the score of 20-7. So after 60 minutes of football, what did we learn about the Jacksonville Jaguars?
1. Jacksonville Refused To Let Henry Have A Repeat Of Their Last Matchup
The last time the Titans and Jaguars met, it was a Thursday night late in the season and Derrick Henry had his best game of his professional career. He ran through, around and past the Jaguars defense for 237 yards (including a 99-yard touchdown) as the Titans cruised to a victory at home.
Not to let history repeat itself again, the defense held Henry to 46 yards on 17 carries. He only had one carry over 10 yards. Even though he scored a late touchdown, Henry was held in check.
2. Calais Campbell Is A Monster
When the discussion of “who are the top defensive ends in the NFL”, Campbell isn’t mentioned by many. To be honest, his first nine years in Arizona were solid.
He was a two-time Pro Bowler and had 58.5 sacks in his time in the desert. Ever since he has returned to the state he played college football in, he’s been one of the premier sack artists in the NFL.
In his 35 games wearing teal, Campbell has amassed 28 sacks and has become an elite pass rusher. If you missed why he needs to be double-teamed on a regular basis, watch the havoc he created on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
3. Minshew The Great
He might look like a 1980’s television action star, but rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II might have created something special in Duval county. He stayed cool under pressure, made all the right throws and didn’t make any mistakes as he led the team on four scoring drives.
In the opening half, he went 13-18 for 125 yards and two touchdown passes. Minshew used short and medium distance throws to set up his 22-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Chark.
His play made up for starting running back Leonard Fournette’s a below average game. A rookie quarterback’s best friend is a solid running game but when you’re starting running back has negative yards for the majority of the game, it doesn’t normally means that you’re rookie quarterback will have a bad night.
But on this Thursday night, Gardner Minshew II was definitely an exception to the rule.
