For our final Top 20 of the year recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Jaguars, we’re being a bit self-indulgent. Our topic is “Top 20 Stories to Cover” fun or not, newsworthy or just small anecdotes. While a majority of the list was compiled by Sports Director Sam Kouvaris, Senior Photographer/Producer Matt Kingston and Senior Producer/Photographer Kevin Talley, we solicited opinions from Channel 4 reporters and anchors, past and present to see what their favorite stories have been in the last 20 years. Some were a consensus; others were things that perhaps only the reporter would know that made the story that much more special.

We thought it was interesting that the list seems to come from both ends of the Jaguars history. Much of the “fun” stuff from the beginning and the success under Tom Coughlin, and stories created by the current leadership both on and off the field. Not much during the Del Rio era made it onto our list.

You’d have to be a “veteran” at Channel 4 to have been a part of our top story in Jaguars history and that’s actually getting a team. Channel 4 Anchorman Tom Wills and Sam Kouvaris were in Chicago for the announcement. Sam’s time in the Jaguars private suite when they were told they were getting a team along with the look on his face (according to Tom) when he peaked behind the curtain to see a “Jacksonville Jaguars” banner being prepared for the announcement were pretty incredible. The spontaneous celebration in town was like nothing we’ve seen before or since and covering that, nonstop for 8 hours from Jacksonville and Chicago and the happiness it brought so many people remains at number one.

Getting plenty of support at the top from contributors like Executive Producer Sharon Siegel-Cohen and Channel 4 Anchor Joy Purdy, the coverage of the flight home from Denver after beating the Broncos in the 1996 playoffs is at number two. Most of our contributors named this in the top two or three. The fly over of the stadium and the spontaneous arrival of 40,000 people at the downtown, as well as our spontaneous coverage, is sometimes hard to believe in retrospect. Our colleague Cole Pepper noted how it solidified just what a sports team and its success can do for a city.

Sam put the press box scene in Denver in 1996 in the 3rd spot, although he was the only one there. Noted Denver writers were hacking on the Jaguars and Jacksonville all throughout the game, asking if this was a real game or just an “exhibition with the USFL.” They were only slowed down when Sam noted at halftime in a loud voice, “USFL 13, NFL 12.” The Jaguars went on to back that up with a 30-27 victory over the heavily favored Broncos.

Beating Buffalo the week before in the playoffs in Buffalo by an identical score was also a fun story to be a part of. Tom and Sam were also on that trip, with Tom finding Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s sisters in the corner of the parking lot tailgating with a Jaguars flag flying. He asked them if they’d ever seen their brother smile and they answered in unison, “Only when he wins!” Tom caught Coughlin after the game and related the story to the Jaguars head coach, who broke out into a memorable smile. At the end of the game, Sam and Photographer Kevin Talley were going down the elevator to the field with about 2:00 to play. They arrived in the tunnel just as Bills QB Jim Kelly was arriving on a cart, clearly suffering from a concussion after a hit by Chris Hudson. Kelly stepped off the cart and started walking down the hall, the wrong way. Sam grabbed him and turned him around saying “this way Jim” as Buffalo medical personnel were scrambling for their quarterback.

When Kevin and Sam got to the end line of the field with about a minute to play, the fans were pretty hostile. The end line isn’t that far from the low wall of the stands and the constant barrage of four-letter words eventually lead Kevin to turn around and say, “We might (stink), but you have to live here.” To which Sam asked Kevin if he was crazy and hastened their move to midfield for some interviews.

A similar thing happened in Pittsburgh at Three Rivers the first time the Jaguars beat the Steelers there. Fans were so hostile the players instructed Sam and other reporters to “stay close” walking off the field. “We’ll keep out helmets on. They won’t throw anything if you have out helmets on.”

Jaguars Defensive End Jeff Lageman thought the bus ride home from the airport to the stadium after the Buffalo win was the best story of that year that might have been only known to the players. “The road was packed with cars and pickups, the busses could only go about 5 miles an hour because of all the fans lined up and cheering.” Pretty cool inside stuff.

The win over Atlanta in 1996 that put the Jaguars in the playoffs for the first time rounds out the top five. It was an unlikely scenario and just when it appeared the Jaguars would win the game, the Falcons ripped off a long screen pass that Tony Brackens came out of nowhere to stop inside the 20. Atlanta sent one of the all time great kickers in league history, Morten Andersen on to kick the game winning FG, only to see him miss wide left. Bedlam ensued. Sam says it’s the only time in his career that he couldn’t watch. “Too painful,” he said about the prospect of getting beat like that.

Hosting the Super Bowl here starts the second five. Despite all of the criticism, the league was very happy with the city’s ability to handle the game. More cabs and another luxury hotel would have to be in place to ever host the game again but the owners made a ton of money, stayed at Amelia Island and we had great weather from Thursday through the game. A Super bowl in Jacksonville? Really?

Shad Khan occupies spots 7 and eight. Although he was supposed to buy the St. Louis Rams the year before, he came out of nowhere to be the Jaguars owner. He and Wayne Weaver had gotten to know each other in the process of selling the Rams and when that didn’t happen, they eventually made a deal for the Jaguars. Weaver rejected suitors who wanted to buy the team and potentially move it to California (i.e. Fidelity’s Bill Foley) and put a deal in place for Khan to keep the team here. He also fired Del Rio that day (who didn’t know about the sale until Channel 4 told him in front of his house during an interview) and extended Gene Smith’s contract as General Manager. Pretty big day for the franchise and multiple great stories.

It’s only been a few times, but anytime we get a chance to sit down with Shad Khan it always provides insight to his thought process for the Jaguars. He’s a businessman first, but he has big ideas for the team and for the city and is honest in his assessment of both.

Growing into a ‘big city” can bring big city problems and the shooting of Richard Collier is at nine because of that. While none of the reporting there has been fun, it did show the “celebrity” status that players have in town and covering Richard’s fight to stay alive, his spirit and continuing commitment to the community is an important thread in Jaguars history.

If you saw the end of the Cleveland game where they showered the field with debris because they didn’t like a call, you knew that would be on this list somewhere. It makes it as #10, not only for what happened on the field, but for the goofy way the game ended. The Jaguars and Browns left the field for their safety and Referee Jeff Triplett called the game with three seconds on the clock. During the post game press conference, the commissioner’s office called to say they had to “finish the game.” Players from both teams scrambled for uniforms and rushed out onto the field together. QB Mark Brunell knelt on it one time and they ran off. We’re pretty sure Brunell was wearing somebody else’s pants for that play.

By the way, some of the debris being thrown on the field at the end of the game included full beer bottles, obviously not full of beer. Because of that game, the league changed their policy on alcohol sales in the 4th quarter and now when you buy a beer at the stadium, they hand you the bottle with the top off.

Covering that 1999 season was a great story for everybody. The Jaguars went 14-2, they galvanized the city and were the best team in football. Once things got rolling, sports became news with most of the top stories each night on the newscasts involving the Jaguars on and off the field. While everybody has their favorite stories from 1999, the season itself was a great story to cover. Until the end.

You might know that Sam is the Pro Football Hall of Fame representative for Jacksonville. Weaver asked him to sit on that committee of (at the time) just 32 members so he slipped it in at number 12. Going to his first meeting in Phoenix, the committee makeup was a who’s who of 1st generation reporters covering the NFL from its infancy. John Steadman, Edwin Pope, Furman Bishop, Tom McEwen, Will McDonough, Jack Buck and others were the leaders on the committee. Pretty memorable when Jacksonville got a vote among those titans of what was then, “Sports journalism.”

We put the introduction press conferences of both Mike Mularkey and Gus Bradley in at thirteen. Both are nice people who, on that day, were full of hope and optimism. We’ll never know if given the same chance Mularkey would have been able to rebuild and the jury is still out on Bradley. But on those days, it was nothing but sunshine and roses.

When Khan took over the team, you knew it was going to be different and it has been. Among the changes is how the Jaguars fit into the league structure. No longer mentioned as the first city to lose their team elsewhere, Khan instead has expanded the Jaguars brand internationally. His announcement with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that the Jaguars would be the league’s “home” team in London for 4 years (and possibly beyond) hammered home the difference between Khan’s ideas and what had come before him. The league might eventually have a team in London, and Shad Khan might own it, but moving the Jaguars there right now is not an option.

The rest of our list is filled out with personal reflections on stories we’ve covered. Coughlin’s relationship with ALS patient Rick Murray was a reminder of the reality of life but what small gestures and just simple kindness can do for the human spirit. Kyle Brady’s interest in flight was fueled by Sam’s pilot training and to see a football player branch out into something completely different was good insight into the different kinds of people it takes to make up a team. (Brady went on to also get his financial adviser certification and is now a lawyer in town as well.) Despite the long days and schedule during the season, Jaguars players and coaches are out on a regular basis, helping with charities and foundations in the community. The amount of money the Weaver’s have donated is staggering in itself. Always great stories to be a part of. And while you have to have some history behind you to become part of the Pride of the Jaguars, those inductions are reminders of the good play and good times had in the past.

On a strictly “insider” basis, traveling with the team on charter flights is a story that might never be told. If so, it’ll have to be by a player who’s retired and had some fun. The amount of food and fun had on those flights, particularly by winning teams, is legendary. And get somebody to tell you the “Kyle Brady as Mango” story if you can. Hilarious.

And finally, watching such promise devolve into addiction and hopefully redemption makes the list. Former Channel 4 Sports Reporter Sean Woodland noted Jimmy Smith and Justin Blackmon but Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, R.J. Soward and others have been brought to Jacksonville and the NFL by the Jaguars with such high hopes, to see those hopes end, is a story that reminds you of how fleeting success, and especially fame, can be.

• 1. Getting the team
• 2. Flight home from Denver
• 3. Press Box in Denver
• 4. Win in Buffalo and coming home
• 5. Beating Atlanta at home in 1996
• 6. Super Bowl here
• 7. Khan, Weaver, firing Del Rio, extending Gene Smith
• 8. Khan 1 on 1 interviews
• 9. Richard Collier shooting
• 10. Cleveland game re-start
• 11. 1999 season
• 12. First Hall of Fame Meeting
• 13. Mularkey, Bradley introduction press conferences
• 14. Jaguars commit to London announcement
• 15. Tom Coughlin and Rick Murray
• 16. Flying with Kyle Brady
• 17. Jaguars in the community
• 18. Pride of the Jaguars Inductions
• 19. Team Charter flights
• 20. Jimmy Smith, Justin Blackmon problems

Others noted: Chris Hanson “chopping wood, Jaguars playing other sports (basketball, softball, taking BP at the baseball grounds). Fulham’s visit and Hugo Rodallega kicking a 35-yard FG in practice. Coach Robert Saleh’s story about his brother being in the World Trade Center during September 11th and how it changed his life. Anytime we talked with Mark Duffner, Dick Jauron, Dom Capers or Mel Tucker, all assistants who “got it.” The evolution of Fred Taylor from high school kid to full-time dad. Talking with John Jurkovic. Unveiling the new video boards and pools. The Jaguars relationship with JT Townsend. Leftwich released. Tony Boselli available to “expansion draft.”

Did we miss something? Let us know with #JagsTop20 on Twitter or email us at sports@wjxt.com. We’ll talk about this list with Jeff Lageman this week on Jaguars Friday Night at 11:20.

Sometimes I’m perplexed by the Jaguars play calling and lack of offense. When you see them prepare, they seem to get it. But in games, it becomes a different story. Opening the game down 7-0 after giving up an game starting drive of 84 yards (to Charlie Whitehurst) the Jaguars ran the ball a couple of times with Toby Gerhart for a first down. Then, perhaps going on a script, a throw to Cecil Shorts wasn’t perfect, and he dropped it. So Gerhart gets three on the stretch play (that I hate) and it brings up third and 7. As we know, the 3-yard pass is always open on 3rd and 7, so Blake Bortles throws it to Jordan Todman in the flat, covered, for a loss of 4 and the Jaguars punt. Not only did they stop executing, it seemed that the play selection was doomed to fail as well. Not a lot of movement, not a lot of play action or anything else. Just basic plays that either work or they don’t. And when they don’t, which is more often than not these days, there aren’t a lot of options.

More of the same followed for the Jaguars offense, mustering 16 yards on 4 possessions. If you’re a fan of punting, Bryan Anger put on a display, especially a 61-yarder that was up there forever.

On defense, it was a different unit than the one that played against Baltimore on Sunday. Big chunks of yardage were given up, especially over the middle to wide-open receivers, especially the tight end. Head Coach Gus Bradley has said if guys are running wide open, then it’s a blown assignment. Somebody back there clearly has a problem with that assignment because it’s always open and teams know it. The Titans took advantage of holes in the secondary to get inside the Jaguars 40 and kick a field goal to make it 10-0.

Right before the 2-minute warning, the Jaguars offense finally got untracked, sort of. Gerhart was getting the ball going at the line of scrimmage and finding creases, running people over and doubled the Jaguars offensive production in two carries. A nice roll out throw by Bortles to Marqise Lee put the ball in Titans territory. But for some reason, Gerhart came out of the game and the Jaguars went backwards. Lee made another nice catch, Marcedes Lewis fell down on the 23 and Bortles bailed himself out by scrambling for a 1st down. There was a Cecil Shorts sighting and he fought to the 4-yard line.

This is where the Jaguars have struggled for most of the season. Again, some of it execution and some of it play selection. But finding Lewis singled up against a cornerback, Bortles fired a bullet that Lewis snatched out of the air and fought to hold on to for a TD. It might be the single best play of his entire career and should have been a staple of the offense every time he’s healthy. Nonetheless, TD Jaguars and they went to the half down 10-7. After mustering only 16 yards of offense through most of the first half, they gobbled up 80 on that drive alone. Part execution, part play selection.

Since Tennessee won the toss and took the ball to start the game, the Jaguars had the ball to start the second half and took advantage of it right away. One of the reasons the team has so much hope for the future is how things sometimes click so perfectly. Bortles hit Lee over the middle for 34 yards and then twice to Hurns for 8 and 15 yards to threaten for some points. A little trick throwback from Shorts to Jordan Todman made it first and goal and after a defensive holding call, the Jaguars actually gave the ball to Gerhart from the 1 for a TD and a 14-10 lead.

Then it went back to a punt-fest.

The defense stiffened with 6 minutes to go in the game and stopped the Titans on 4th and 2. Jordan Todman followed that with a 62-yard TD run to give the Jaguars a 21-10 lead. Three offensive TD’s in this game vs. none in the past two combined.

They gave up a FG and then it was only a matter of whether the offense could control the ball for the rest of the game and secure the victory. They couldn’t and Bradley eschewed a FG attempt in favor of a punt with a minute to play that went into the end zone for a touchback and the Titans took over on the 20.

They moved it to midfield pretty easily but were running out of time. Whitehurst was looking around for a chance to throw a Hail Mary into the end zone when Sen’Derrick Marks sacked him to end the game. Not only did that secure the win but it also gave marks 8.5 sacks this year, earning him a $600,000 bonus.

With three wins the Jaguars have a chance to equal last years record in the final game at Houston. Once they opened up the offense, they moved the ball but not with the consistency they’d like to have.

You’d rather be a Jaguar fan than a Titan fan at this point. While the Jaguars are hoping their young players emerge, the Titans will be searching for a quarterback and other young players for a few years.

At 2-11 most NFL teams are already making plans for the future. Players are lining up vacation time, golf trips and how quickly they can get away after the final game. For the Jaguars, that doesn’t appear to be the case. With three games to play, it was business as usual for the team this week preparing to play in Baltimore.

And some observers think that’s the problem.

During the taping of the Gus Bradley Show this week, I asked the Head Coach if his “no stress” philosophy allowed him to put some heat on the players to perform.

“There’s pressure,” he quickly responded. “They know there’s pressure and hopefully it’s self-imposed. Pressure to perform, pressure to get results.”

That’s where the Jaguars have faltered, producing results in 2014 that were different than last year. Finishing with a 4-12 record in 2013, most people inside and outside of the organization thought this was a 7 or 8 win team this year. But the rebuilding continued and as my colleague Cole Pepper has noted, for the second straight year it was just an extended preseason. A chance to evaluate, for players to start to understand and get used to playing in the NFL and for the coaches to find a team identity.

Perhaps the evaluation continues and players are getting more comfortable, but a team identity hasn’t emerged. Former Jaguars linebacker Tom McManus said this week on “Jaguars Friday Night” that he thinks that’s a problem.

“You know what the D-Line’s identity is, they get after you. The O-Line? Ehh? Who are they?”

Mostly, inconsistency has cost the Jaguars all season long, and some of that can be attributed to how young the team is this year. But that is starting to sound line an excuse and not a reason.

“They’re not rookies anymore,” former Jaguar great Tony Boselli said this week. “They’ve played 13 games, they’ve been through camp and meetings and all that stuff. They just have to get the job done now.” They have started as many as nine rookie or first year players this year on offense, more than any team in the history of the league, but Boselli says the learning curve should be starting to flatten out.

“These guys are starting to see the same things for a second and third time. They should be figuring it out.”

And that goes for Blake Bortles as well. He’s thrown league high 16 interceptions to go along with his 10 touchdowns. He’s gone through the “newness” phase and through the “don’t turn it over phase” and now into the “I’m only in a light fog” phase. He’s admitted “I’m killin’ us” and last week felt the sting of unhappy fans when he and the offense couldn’t get anything done in the second half.

While the Jaguars are still trying to compete and get better, the Ravens are starting a playoff push. In fact, this could be considered their first playoff game. Win out, and they’re in the post-season.

Another good test for a young Jaguars team that will see how a very “professional” team operates deep into the season.

Hopefully they’ll be learning enough to, as GM Dave Caldwell says, not have this same discussion next year.

This week’s Top 20 in recognition of the Jaguars 20th anniversary is the Top 20 individual performances in Jaguars history. What brought this list to life was Josh Scobee’s two field goals last week putting him over 1000 points in his career, the first Jaguars player to accomplish that. Scobee makes this list for his efforts.

At number one we put Mark Brunell’s performance against Denver in the playoffs after the 1996 season leading to a 30-27 upset over the Broncos on the road. He might have had better games statistically, but there was no better performance when it comes to leadership, game management and making a play when it counted. His run in the 4th quarter was a near Herculean effort to seal the victory for the Jaguars.

Tony Boselli is in at 2 and 3. He dominated Bruce Smith in the playoffs so dramatically that the Jaguars were able to upset the Bills in Buffalo. His waving to JasonTaylor in front of a national television audience is one of the iconic images in Jaguars history.

Underappreciated, James Stewart was a very solid contributor for the Jaguars in their early years. Sometimes it’s the luck of the play calling but obviously Tom Coughlin had a lot of confidence in him at the goal line. Stewart’s 5TD’s and 30 points scored against the Eagles remain team records in the Jaguars’ 20th season.

Because it happened in the playoffs, Fred Taylor’s run against the Dolphins to open the scoring in the Jaguars rout is in at number five. Great individual effort, breaking tackles at the line of scrimmage and then just running away from everybody.

No job is lonelier than kicker so Josh Scobee’s 59-yarder to beat the Colts is in at number six. Kicking might be the most individual of pursuits in football once the snapper and the holder do their job, so a 59-yard game winner is pretty special for the individual. And Scobee’s helmet raised run around the field is another iconic image in Jaguars history.

For Brad Meester just being in the game deserves a spot on this list. It seemed like they tried to replace him every year in the second half of his 14-year career but he just kept winning the job. Meester was a “known entity” for the Jaguars and they could pencil his name in the lineup virtually every week. He played heavy or light at the team’s request and knew what he was doing up front. His consecutive game streaks are team records and Brad should be the next name put in the Pride of the Jaguars.

When it comes to consecutive game streaks, Mike Hollis’ 67-game scoring record makes the list. He was the beneficiary of playing on some pretty good Jaguars teams but scoring in every game in over 4 seasons remains a Jaguars record.

Even though it was in a loss, Jimmy Smith’s day against the Ravens in Baltimore is in at number nine. Fifteen catches, 291 yards and 3 TD’s wasn’t enough to secure a victory for the Jaguars.

Fred’s individual games of 234 yards against Pittsburgh and 194 against New Orleans are in at 10 and 11. It’d be something special to see numbers from a running back like that again. Maurice Jones Drew ran for 186 yards in a shootout against Tennessee. He had TD runs of 80 and 79 yards in that game and he’s number 12 on this list for that day. He’s also at #13 for leading the league in rushing in 2011. His 1,606 yards were a source of pride for the offense on a bad team.

Catching the football takes somebody else throwing it, but Smith’s 116 catches in 1999 and Keenan McCardell’s 16 caches and 232 yards against St. Louis in 1996 both make the list at 14 and 15. Although he didn’t play much (so far) Justin Blackmon’s 14 reception day against Denver last year in one of the 4 games he played is in at number sixteen. He kept the Jaguars from being blown out.

Some performances seem surreal in this era of 4 win Jaguars teams. Do you remember when Taylor ran for 100 yards or more in 9 straight games in 2000? How would that be received today?

That’s why Sen’Derrick Marks’ 8.5 sacks (so far) this year is on the list. He’s playing defensive tackle, and in most games teams aren’t throwing it much in the second half because they’re just trying to grind the clock and leave with a win. Eight and a half is already a huge number for Sen’Derrick.

You might have forgotten how versatile MJD was in his early years. He’s on the list at 19 for his 303 all-purpose yards against Indy in 2006. He got to that number rushing, receiving AND returning kicks.

And at #20 Rashean Mathis’ 30 career interceptions finishes our list. He had eight in 2006, a number that seems unattainable for anybody on recent or current Jaguars teams. Hopefully that changes.

We know this list can have plenty of disagreement. Did we miss something? Pete Mitchell’s 10-catch game as a rookie tight end? Let us know on twitter with #JagsTop20 or email us at sports@wjxt.com. We’ll talk about the list this week on Jaguars Friday Night at 11:20.

1. Brunell vs. Denver 1996
2. Boselli vs. Bruce Smith
3. Boselli vs. Jason Taylor
4. James Stewart 5 TD’s
5. Fred Taylor TD Run vs. Miami
6. Josh Scobee 59 yard FG
7. Brad Meester Service
8. Mike Hollis 67 consecutive games scoring
9. Jimmy Smith vs. Baltimore 15 catches 291yds 3 td’s
10. Fred vs. Pitt 234 yds
11. Fred vs NO 194 yards
12. MJD vs Tenn 186 80 yd 79 yd
13. MJD 2011 lead league 1,606
14. Jimmy Smith 116 catches 1999
15. Keenan 16 catches 232 yds. 1996 vs stl
16. Blackmon 14 catches vs Denver 2013
17. Fred 9 straight 100 yd games in 2000
18. Sen’Derrick Marks 8.5 Sacks in 2014
19. MJD all purpose yds. 303 vs Indy 2006
20. Rashean Mathis 30 career INT’s 8 n 2006

Having swept the Texans last year for two of their four wins, the Jaguars were fairly confident this week at home against Houston. Coming off a last-second win against the Giants they could see improvement and how “the process” was taking hold. Not that Houston was any kind of pushover. With JJ Watt playing at an MVP level, Arian Foster looking like the Pro Bowl back he is, and Ryan Fitzpatrick coming off a 6-TD performance, it’s a pretty good test for the home team.

Again this week Sen’Derrick Marks played at a Pro Bowl level, recording 1.5 sacks in the first quarter to get the Jaguars in good field position. Marks is scheduled for a big payday if he gets to 8 sacks from the DT position. That’s a huge number coming from that spot on the field on a team that has won 2 games and isn’t usually harassing the QB because the opposition is throwing it all the time trying to catch up.

Taking advantage of the short field, the Jaguars drove the ball in from the 50 with a nice blend of runs by Denard Robinson and Toby Gerhart and a back-shoulder 26 yard pass from Blake Bortles to Marqis Lee to take a 7-0 lead. The TD pass was impressive because the Jaguars used their bootleg roll to the right goal line play but the Texans sniffed it out and covered everybody coming out of the backfield and the tight end off the line of scrimmage. Bortles kept the play alive rolling to the right and final Allen Hurns danced away from his man enough for Bortles to fit it in there for a touchdown.

Anytime Foster is in the game the Texans have a chance. When he’s healthy and playing, he gets a hundred yards a game pretty much all the time. The Jaguars were keeping him in check until one of their “fits” from the defensive secondary didn’t work on a running play and he ripped off 51-yards into Jaguars territory. Along the way he stiff-armed Josh Evans so hard that he de-cleated Evans at midfield. The Texans got a FG to make it 7-3. On the ensuing possession, Houston got the short field and scored on a Fitzpatrick run (following a 19 yard Foster carry) 10-7 Houston.

A lot of fans have been down on some of the free agent acquisitions for the Jaguars in the offseason. They cut Dekota Watson, Zane Beadles hasn’t had much to work with and Toby Gerhart isn’t the guy everybody thought he’d be. Hard to say if Beadles is just suffering from all the young guys around him or not. But it’s clear that Gerhart hasn’t been healthy until now. He’s running hard and is a good combination with Denard Robinson in the backfield. The Jaguars gave it to him on 3rd and 9 and he powered through the line and ran over a couple of guys on the next level for a first down. Scobee kicked another field goal to make it 10-10. And with Bortles running around looking for somebody, he checked down to Gerhart who blasted through a few guys again for a first down. Another Scobee FG made it 13-10 at halftime.

Bortles is playing more like the guy who came in during the second half of the third game of the year. He’s avoiding the rush, finding open receivers and not making the same mistakes he made in that five game stretch. Hard to say if he’s peeking out of the fog or not but he looks like that guy the Jaguars thought they drafted.

After halftime, the weather turned a little worse with a light mist and a cold wind blowing through the stadium. Apparently the Jaguars didn’t like the weather shift because the 3rd quarter was all Houston. They went on an 84 yard, 16 play TD drive to take a17-13 lead and intercepted Bortles at the 25 near the end of quarter and scored to start the 4th to take a 24-14 lead. The second touchdown was particularly galling because the Texans went for it on 4th down only to have Foster stoned at the goal line but slip away backwards and skirt untouched around the left end for the TD. There was a big swing of emotion on the play, elation when Foster was stopped but despair when it was apparent nobody tackled him and he slipped in for the score.

Houston controlled the clock on offense and stifled the Jaguars with their defense for most of the second half. With eight minutes to go in the game Bortles and the offense had officially -1 yards on the books. Cecil Shorts had a critical drop on a slant that he’d still be running on and the Jaguars gave it back to the Texans. Houston kicked another FG to make it 27-13.

Right when the Jaguars looked like they’d make a game of it by gaining 51 yards on two plays and getting to the Texans 29 yard line, they started going backwards with sacks and penalties. Houston did their best to grind the clock, Foster professionally and smartly staying in bounds to get it under 3 minutes before giving it back to the Jaguars.

I’m not sure if they’ll be able to pinpoint exactly why there was no production in the second half on either side of the ball. Critical drops (Shorts et al) and penalties, along with an inability to keep Bortles upright all contributed to their problems. Certainly his interception deep in their own territory didn’t help but it felt like a small step forward for Bortles in game management, performance and playing with more freedom than in the past.

While they had the lead at halftime, the Jaguars never felt in control of this game and while you’d like to say it was entertaining and fun to be there, in the second half it was anything but that. In fact, the stands were mostly empty as people retreated inside because of the rain and the cold.

Houston knelt on it for the final 2 minutes to add insult to injury, a wound that the Jaguars can only salve by being able to do the same to the Texans in the final game of the season.

One more home game on the 18th against Tennessee on a Thursday night that could be fun, and winnable.

Here’s our top 20 for this week in recognition of the Jaguars 20th anniversary. To mark their comeback win over the Giants last Sunday, it’s the top 20 comebacks in Jaguars history. They’re all not actual comebacks in games, but all represent a comeback of sorts surrounding the Jaguars.

At number 1, the city of Jacksonville made a huge comeback to even still be in the game to get a franchise. The announcement on November 30, 1993 represents the biggest comeback ever in franchise history.

A close second is 1990. Certain leaders in the Jacksonville community had convinced local politicians that getting NFL franchise wasn’t a very important thing for city growth. A whole other group thought it was very important, including Don Davis, a prominent local politician and convinced the Mayor that this was an important thing. Behind the scenes, Touchdown Jacksonville was reconnected with the City and the rest, is history.

Third is the comeback in 2013 to beat Cleveland on the road. Dramatic, last second win. Fourth is also dramatic, in overtime as Rashean Mathis scored the game winner for the Jaguars. Fifth is the Mike Thomas Hail Mary catch against the Texans. It was so sudden and dramatic and it’s made a lot of these lists this year.

In the 6th spot we have Mark Brunell’s return to the lineup in 1998. He was injured with three games to play and the Jaguars lost two of three to still get into the playoffs. His return allowed them to advance to the second round where they were eventually beat by the Jets. Without Mark, they go nowhere. Same with Fred’s return in 2002. After missing almost all of 2001 with an injury, Taylor came back better than ever and played in more games as a starting running back than any other back in his era after that. So much for “Fragile Fred.” We also put Tony Boselli’s comeback in 1995 on the list. 1995? The first year? Right. Boselli was injured before the season started so it was a big deal for him to “comeback” to the lineup. He recently said he ankle hurt so much that if it was OK to cry in football, he would have. We also put Mark Brunell’s comeback to Jacksonville after his career was over in the 9th spot. After 19 years in the league and a few financial problems, Brunell is the head coach at Episcopal, works for ESPN and has picked Jacksonville as his home. Same for Boselli. He bounced around a few years after his career ended but now is back in town for good it appears.

The next nine are games where the Jaguars came from behind to win, including Sunday’s victory over the Giants. Some of the others you’ll remember, some you might not, but all are come from behind wins.

And in the 20th spot the Jaguars return to Channel 4. We were the official station in the early 2000’s and now that we have it back, we’re trying new things, working with the team to make the broadcasts fun and interesting, no matter what the score on the field. It’s been a great experience so far and we’re looking forward to more!

Did we miss something? Let us know at sports@wjxt.com or tweet us with #jagstop20 and we’ll talk about it on Jaguars Friday Night!

• 1) 1993
• 2) 1990
• 3) 2013 week 13 at Cleveland – Henne to Shorts TD with 40 seconds left for 32-28 win
• 4) 2005 at Pittsburgh – Rashean Mathis 41 yard INT return for TD in overtime for the 23-17 win
• 5) Mike Thomas Hail Mary catch
• 6) Brunell comeback in ’98
• 7) Taylor comeback in 2002
• 8) Boselli in 1995
• 9) Brunell comeback after football
• 10) 21 points 11/30/14 vs NYG
  trailed 21-0 in the 2nd quarter
• 11) 15 points, 11/24/96 at BAL,
  trailed 25-10 4th quarter, won 28-25 OT
• 12) 14 points, 11/10/96 vs. BAL,
  trailed 17-3 3rd quarter, won 30-27
• 13) 14 points, 12/13/99 vs. DEN,
  trailed 14-0 1st quarter, won 27-24
• 14) 14 points, 12/11/11 vs. TB,
  trailed 14-0 2nd quarter, won 41-14
• 15) 13 points, 11/09/03 vs. IND,
  trailed 20-7 at half, won 28-23
• 16) 12 points, 09/27/98 at TEN,
  trailed 19-7 2nd quarter, won 27-22
• 17) 11 points, 10/13/96 vs. NYJ,
  trailed 14-3 2nd quarter, won 21-1
• 18) 11 points, 11/30/97 vs. BAL,
  trailed 14-3 2nd quarter, won 29-27
• 19) 11 points, 09/23/12 at IND,
  trailed 14-3 at half, won 22-17
• 20) Jaguars return to Channel 4

In the NFL, it all comes down to the quarterback. Bad teams with good quarterbacks have a chance. Good teams with bad quarterbacks usually don’t. Great running backs don’t take you to the Super Bowl. Walter Payton needed an historic defense to carry his bears to the championship game. Barry Sanders never got there. Quarterbacks make the difference at the highest level.

So for the Jaguars, it’s all about Blake Bortles. The first round, third overall pick looks and acts the part. He’s tall, he’s fast enough. His arm is getting stronger and he has that ‘it’ factor that’s not easily defined, or found when it comes to professional athletes. He likes playing the game but more importantly, he likes playing the position with all the responsibility and criticism that goes with it. Win and the QB usually gets too much credit. Lose, and he usually takes too much of the blame.

When Bortles entered the game against Indianapolis in the second half down 30-0 at home, he threw two touchdowns and two interceptions but gave fans hope. It’s rumored that Shad Khan after the game in the elevator when asked how he felt said, “A lot better now. I’ve seen the future.” And that pretty much summed up what everybody associated with the franchise was thinking. “It’s going to be OK.”

But in the subsequent 8 games, Bortles production has regressed. He’s still capable of playing at a high level, but his production has gone backwards. How does that happen? On one hand, defensive coordinators have a bit of a sample group to look at what Bortles can do and they devise a game plan to attack that. Simple enough, and usually talented players at QB eventually overcome those changes. Sometimes.

Bortles has moved from that free and easy initial feeling when he took over into a fog of whirling defenders and a cacophony voices in his head. He wants to be aggressive, that’s his nature, but he doesn’t want to turn the ball over. He admitted as much this week saying he wanted to “think less” when he’s out there. All quarterbacks get into this fog as their career progresses. They have the ability, they see what’s happening but they have just the slightest bit of doubt creeping around in their thought process that keeps them from making the best decision at that moment.

But the good ones come out of it. And that’s what we should look for with Bortles over the last five games of the year. In that span, he should peek his head out of the fog a few times and see things pretty clearly. He’s not fragile either physically or mentally, so he won’t melt down like some other QB’s have done in this stage of their career. He won’t lose confidence. Head Coach Gus Bradley and Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch have tempered their criticism of Bortles a bit this week, perhaps hoping he’ll start to move out of that fog on his own.

I’m pretty confident Bortles is the right guy for the job. He has the tools and the psyche, as well as the moxie to be a QB in the NFL. He’ll need some help, especially at wide receiver sometime soon. If teams are going to play eight defenders at the line of scrimmage, like both Dallas and Indy did in successive games, and play press man coverage on the WR’s, it’s up to the wideouts to beat that coverage and get open. But they’re not and that leads to tough decisions being made by Bortles.

Look for the Giants to do much of the same today against the Jaguars. They’ll try to bottle up the running game and make Bortles and wide receivers try and beat them. The Jaguars will counter with trying to run the football and rolling Bortles out of the pocket a bit, putting guys in motion and using Marcedes Lewis as a target to give receivers some space and create matchup problems for the NY secondary.

That’s the chess game today. Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes that if his team can control field position and force the Jaguars into long drives, eventually his defense will do something to turn the game. Or the Jaguars will make a mistake and turn it over.

Run the football, move Bortles out of the pocket and don’t turn it over, pretty simple keys for the Jaguars today.

Going in to the game against the Colts the Jaguars, coming off their bye week, had some goals they were trying to achieve in the last six weeks of the season. One big one was to stop turning the ball over, particularly on the plus side of the 50 when it looked like they were going to get some points.

As a defense, the Jaguars were shredded by Andrew Luck the last time they met but in the first two series, they shut him down, sacked him twice (by Chris Clemons) and forced a fumble. Sounds good right?

Problem was, Blake Bortles first pass was a bad read and a worse throw, trying to hit Marcedes Lewis on an out pattern. Vontae Davis saw it coming the whole time, jumped the route and picked it off, returning it 46 yards deep into Jaguars territory. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 46 yarder to give Indy a 3-0 lead. By the way, Vinatieri will be 42 years old this December and hasn’t missed this year.

It was pretty clear that the Jaguars defensive line was pumped up in this game. Chris Smith created a fumble with their third sack of the game. Sen’Derrick Marks recovered the fumble and put the Jaguars in business inside the Colts 20. But the offense couldn’t do much, settling for a tipped Josh Scobee field goal to tie the game 3-3.

Another good defensive stand was wasted when Denard Robinson fumbled the ball in the middle of a pile near midfield, giving the Colts the ball back. For a team that was focusing on not turning the ball over, the Jaguars had two in the first quarter.

But neither team had much rhythm. The Jaguars had a sustained drive stall at midfield but the Colts gave up 5 sacks in the first half. Between the two teams there were 5 turnovers and 5 fumbles in the first 26 minutes of play.

The first half was a very solid effort by the Jaguars defense. They harassed Luck, sacked him, forced fumbles and really gave up only one big explosive play toward the end of the half. They held the Colts to just two field goals, six points in the first 30 minutes of the game. The last time these two teams met, the Colts scored 30 in the first half.

When the Jaguars won the toss at the beginning of the game, they deferred, hoping to make something happen in the second half. But in their first series the Jaguars went backwards, Bortles dropping the ball and Jordan Todman dropping a pass. There’s been spotty execution by the offense all season long, but outside of the one drive in the first half, they did nothing to scare the Colts.

Meanwhile you know the Colts are going to score some points. Since the Jaguars offense couldn’t come up with anything, the Colts had a very short field and scored on a 1 yard Trent Richardson run to make it 13-6. Without any offense on the next drive, the Colts had it deep in their own territory. But not for long. Luck hit T.Y. Hilton on a 73-yard go route for a TD that gave Indy a 20-6 lead. It looked a lot like the play Dez Bryant scored on in London against Dewayne Gratz but perhaps he was looking for safety help from Jonathan Cyprien. Either way, Hilton was wide open (Gus “Blown Coverage”) and the game started to get out of hand. It really would have gone south after the ensuing punt by the Jaguars (after another three and out) was returned for a TD but it was called back for an illegal block.

It’s mystifying why the Jaguars couldn’t get anything done on offense. Indianapolis couldn’t stop anybody in the last three weeks and the Jaguars are a legitimate running football team. But Bortles looked a bit gun-shy all day, looking for that blend between being aggressive and not trying to turn the ball over. He had a lot of swing passes in the game plan, nice and safe, and he took advantage of those. But eventually the Colts caught on and shut most of those down. Marqis Lee was getting his chance with Allen Robinson out of the lineup and he had a few catches. One of 37 yards in the 4th quarter got the ball to the one. It might be the first time Lee had ever been caught from behind. And for some reason, Jeff Fisch tried everything but running Toby Gerhart at the line and they turned the ball over on downs. I hated every call in that sequence.

While the Jaguars are not a good football team, occasionally they play well enough to make it interesting. But on this day, they’re a bad football team playing poorly. Gus Bradley will need to reassess what he’s telling the players and what his expectations are and he’ll have to do the same with the fans and probably Shad Khan.

If at this point it’s about the players taking ownership, they can have this one.

When you spend anytime with Shad Khan, it’s easy to see why he’s been so successful in just about everything he’s done. He’s passionate about the things he’s involved in. His eyes light up when you talk about car parts. He has a vision for his football team and a vision for what role he can play in helping the city of Jacksonville. The trip to London is a big part of that economic stimulus Khan is looking for. When I spoke to him on Saturday morning in the library of 45 Park Lane, one of his favorite places in London, Khan was relaxed but focused on making this year’s trip a success for Jacksonville and the Jaguars.

“Last year we laid some of the ground work, and I think this year we’re harvesting some of those things,” he said referring to sponsorships that are being developed for the team and the economic ‘trade mission’ this trip has turned into for the City of Jacksonville. Meetings with a variety of potential international partners from Liverpool to South Africa all could be lucrative contacts for the future.

Khan is interesting in development in Jacksonville for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the positive impact it can have on his franchise. “We want to help. Pretty much from day one I felt and have shown it with action, the community has to grow so the team can grow, sort of a rising tide raising all boats kind of a concept,” he commented when I asked about his commitment to economic growth in the city.

“I’ve played a very active role in what do we have to do to attract jobs here. The Shipyards is just one of those projects to try and do that.” Khan is getting ready to make a proposal to develop the Shipyards with a Jaguars theme, rumored to include a practice field, some retail and possibly even an aquarium.

Recently, Khan was quoted as saying “A homeless guy in Detroit has more mojo than the millionaires in Jacksonville.” He knows he’ll have some opposition to his development ideas but sees incredible potential in the city. When I asked him about civic leadership doing it’s job in bringing business to town, he just laughed. But added, “There’s a lot there, but somehow it just doesn’t translate. I think we can play a role in helping with that.”

And while the city as a whole is in Khan’s vision, his focus is on revitalizing downtown.

“If you look at any urban planning, you cannot have a vibrant city without a vibrant downtown. That is absolutely something we’re lacking. We want to rejuvenate the downtown area. It’s right next to the stadium and there’s a lot of synergy. It’s going to help us.”

This year’s opponent seems to have given this game, and Khan’s and the Jaguars’ role in it a bigger stage. He even brought up Dallas’ image on a national scale. “We’re playing Dallas, they’re America’s Team,” Shad said. “We want to be the face of the league NFL International.”

Part of Khan’ excitement regarding this year’s game is the fact that Dallas is the opponent. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones has been one of his mentors in the NFL ownership circle. “Jerry Jones couldn’t be kinder to me. Took me though the idiots guide to owning an NFL team. He’s an Iconic guy, I love him.”

Jones mentioned this week in a press conference that he expected Khan to have a bigger commitment to London. Khan said he’ll assess that shortly. “For us, we want to do the right thing for the franchise and the right thing for the city. We don’t have the growth in the Jacksonville, We know that. How do we stabilize the team. This is the second year of our 4 year commitment, so next year maybe we’ll say that’s the time to say ‘Hey, what do we do.'”

If you watch Khan operate, you see that he has a plan with whatever he’s doing. That certainly applies to his NFL team where the “rebirth and rebuilding” is in it’s second year. “We’ve gone through a process, we’ve got the youngest team in the league. What’s encouraging to me is that the last three or four games have come down to the last few plays. The players have to mature; we can’t lose all those games. It’s up to Gus and myself to get our expectations out clearly.” Which means the players, and coaches, will know exactly what Shad thinks when it comes to wins and losses starting next year.

Recently, Khan was named the most “popular NFL owner” by one publication. Certainly interesting for a guy who’s only been in the public eye for two years. He clearly has embraced that part of ownership but admitted the celebrity aspect of being an NFL owner kind of surprised him.

“I had no experience. The business I had is not a public business. Part of sports is you have to have a public profile. (You) were not interviewing me when we were doing auto parts. Some of the craziest things. Look at the boat on the Thames, who would have thought, I mean this is London, but it’s become a major curiosity. ”

Khan did bring his new boat “Kismet” to London and anchored just east of Tower Bridge. It has caused a stir with tourists constantly stopping to take pictures and make comments.

Khan has a plan for the boat and executed it. It’s Jaguars themed throughout, including a silver Jaguar on the bow with a teal light in its eye. He has the same kind of plan for the city and his football team. The boat was a six-year project. He’s hoping the plan for the team and the city takes less than that.

This is the second of four years the Jaguars are the “home” team in London as part of the NFL’s International Series. And as the home team, they get first pick of hotels, practice facilities and everything else that goes with the game.

But it’s still a lot of work.

The Jaguars left for London directly after their trip to Cincinnati, arriving mid-morning in the UK. For there they boarded busses to the outskirts of the city to the bedroom town of Watford and “London’s Country Estate” The Grove, their home for the next five days. And on Friday they packed up again and headed in town to the Wembley Hilton, across the street from the stadium.

“We’ll take this show anywhere, anytime,” Sen’Derricks said as the players settled into their newest “home” for a couple of nights. “Gus (Bradley) has done a good job with that message to the team, especially the young guys.”

Marks said he’s enjoyed the trip, his time in London and the practices in the UK. “There was a little sluggishness at the beginning of practice on Wednesday but we got over that real quick. Wednesday was a good practice and Thursday was even better. We’re on ‘go.'”

Things were set up so meticulously in London that the Jaguars had a bus to take them to the stadium for Saturday’s practice. Despite that it was just over 100 yards to the field. “They want to emulate just about everything that’s going on for Sunday,” one staffer told me. “They’ll ride to the stadium on Sunday so they’ll miss the crowd. So they’re riding over there today.”

This year’s trip had a familiar feel for many of the Jaguars and their fans. But it seemed there were fewer fans in black and teal to be found. A trip to Trafalgar turned up nary a Jaguars fan among the street performers, monuments and poppy memorial. We did see two young girls, perhaps 4th graders, in Jaguars print coats but that was it. So it was off to Westminster and the crowded corner overlooking the Cathedral, Parliament, and the London Eye.

We weren’t there long when Michael and Tammy Heath walked by, proudly sporting Jaguars gear. “We were here last year and it was great,” Michael said without prompting. “There aren’t as many Jaguars fans here and Cowboys fans aren’t representing. We’ll be walking by and they’ll say ‘Boo, Hiss, Go Cowboys’ and we’ll look around and they won’t be wearing any stuff. Maybe the cold has everybody bundling up,”

“Last year we did a bunch of stuff but we haven’t seen so we’re doing that today,” Tammy told us. “We did go down and see Shad’s boat,” she told us. When asked if it would fit under the Parliament Bridge she said, “I bloody well don’t think so.” Khan’s yacht “Kismet” drew a crowd on both banks of the Thames, with thousands of photos taken each hour.

Khan hosted dinners at Parliament and Kensington Palace, cocktails on his boat two nights, had sponsors at Craven Cottage for the Fulham match (they won 3-1) and guests at Wembley on Sunday. He’s been busy.

Sure would be a good weekend for Shad if the Jaguars could come up with a victory but not many people think that’s possible against Dallas. The Jaguars are a decided underdog in the game, especially with Tony Romo saying he’s playing.

Two road games in two weeks without coming home is a difficult task for any NFL team. The Jaguars have made this kind of trip two years in a row. In 2013 they traveled to Oakland and Seattle, staying on the West Coast in between the games and practicing in San Jose. Last year, they lost both games.

This year, the trip over two weeks has been bumpy from the start. In Cincinnati, the Jaguars had a couple of chances with momentum against a pretty good team but squandered them with mistakes and a turnover. Turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean at 39,000 feet ensured not much sleep for anybody onboard the team charter although some of the players might have gotten some rest. In an unusual and very well received team building move, Gus Bradley and the coaching staff, normally first class occupants on team charters, gave up their seats and allowed veteran players and starters (allocated by seniority and a sort of “lottery’) to fly ‘up front’ in the 47 transcontinental “lie-flat” cubicles available on the Virgin Atlantic Airbus 340-600. The coaches and senior staff sat in what Virgin Atlantic calls “Upper Class” sort of like a domestic first class seat in the US. While there were plenty of bumps going over and regular reminders to keep your seatbelt on (it was bumpy enough that if you weren’t wearing it you might get bounced out of your seat) one senior Jaguars staffer looked in on the players up front only to find them asleep. “Every one of them, sacked out,” he told me with a laugh.

If you’ve ever gone through London’s Gatwick airport, you know it’s a long slog to get to immigration, then off to baggage and customs. Of course, on arrival, it started to rain. While sponsors were whisked off to a luxury hotel in downtown London for the week, the team and the football staff boarded buses for the 1 ½ ride to their home for most of the week, The Grove Hotel. Outside of the city but accessable by “motorway” and the train, the Grove is a resort not unlike but smaller than the Greenbriar or the Homestead in the US. The NFL has used it as a base for one of the teams playing, building a football field for practice and erecting a temporary locker room right next to it. They also have a world class golf course that hosted a World Golf Championship event in 2006. Tiger Woods won it at 23 under par.

Of course when the team pulled up to the Grove, it rained a little harder.

Not to worry, the team grabbed their room keys and reported to the locker room for a quick workout and a ‘meet and greet.’ About 100 members of the Union Jax, the UK’s Jaguars fan club, were invited to the practice to watch, shake hands and have their picture taken with the players and coaches. And it actually stopped raining for a while.

UK Jaguars fans are rabid, coming from all over the country to see ‘their team” practice. Most were in jerseys. There were about a half dozen members of the British military there as well as athletes from the Invictus Games, a competition for wounded veterans.

When the formalities were concluded, the Jaguars UK coordinator introduced Head Coach Gus Bradley to the group and said, “So Coach, if you’ll do the honors?” Bradley stepped up and addressed the group, then led them in an impromptu version of the “We Believe In Victory” chant we saw him do in the locker room after the Browns victory.

“Did you know you were going to do that,” I asked Gus afterwards.

“NO,” he quickly responded and laughed. “Absolutely not. But we talk about engaging the fans at home and here as well. What better way to do that? Our fans are great and they’re growing. At home and here. They’re great!”

The players met with the coaching staff, went over the Cincinnati game and had the rest of the day off. Most took advantage of the bus provided to take them into Central London. The coaches worked on the game plan.

On Tuesday the players split into groups and went into the surrounding community to meet with local fans as well as students and military veterans. More than a dozen went to the NFL’s “Play 60” event in the nearest town and worked with 8 and 9 year olds on “American Football.”

“These are real American football players and they’re teaching us,” one young girl told us with wide eyes and real astonishment.

“You have to tackle and sometimes ‘budge’ somebody,’ one boy explained. “Yes, budge’ he emphasized apparently incredulous that you’d actually take somebody to the ground and it would be OK under the rules.

The rest of the day was the players day off, with most going into town and the rest playing ping pong, PlayStation in the players lounge, or just resting on the grounds of the Grove. A couple played the golf course and reported it was “spectacular.”

The team will start practice with “Competition Wednesday” and stay at the Grove through Friday afternoon. They’ll then transfer into London for their Saturday walk-thru and the game Sunday against the Cowboys.

Leading up to the game in Cincinnati, the Jaguars knew they’d be making some changes in their lineup and the Bengals would be a mixed bag of personnel who had gotten them to four victories this year. The Bengals are thin on the defensive line and at linebacker and their best running back; Giovanni Bernard is banged up and out. AJ Green is returning to the Bengals lineup after missing time with a toe injury. But on defense, Cincy has six first round picks among their safeties and cornerbacks.

Blake Bortles had an “attacking” week at practice according to Head Coach Gus Bradley, focusing on not turning the ball over. With a nice mix of the pass and run, the Jaguars moved the ball with only one heart-skipping moment when Bortles threw a pass right to a Cincy defensive back but Toby Gerhart, healthy, and Denard Robinson, again, moved the ball downfield leading to a Josh Scobee FB, 3-0 Jaguars. It was a little conservative when it came inside the red zone but points are points and the Jaguars took an early lead.

It wasn’t a shock when the Jaguars defense stuffed the Bengals rushing attack, forcing Andy Dalton to go to the air to try to move the ball. With a week to prepare with Demetrius McCray and Dwayne Gratz at corners and Sherrod Martin knowing he was going to play, the Jaguars defensive backfield looked well organized early in the game against the Bengals passing attack. All three made nice plays on Dalton passes to keep Cincinnati at bay. But between Green and Mohammed Sanu, the Bengals have a formidable duo heading downfield. So when they started to get on rhythm with Dalton, it was not good news for the Jaguars. Using those two and the occasional run from Jeremy Hill the Cincinnati marched down the field on a 10-play 80 yard 4:33 drive to take a 7-3 lead.

It was a few early mistakes that cost the Jaguars good opportunities. A couple of penalties on the offensive line on Zane Beadles and Austin Pasztor and a missed tackle on defense by Telvin Smith either snuffed out drives for the Jaguars or kept things going for the Bengals early. Those mistakes are the kinds of things that get you beat, the little things that are magnified when you’re at least competitive.

Good teams usually get some breaks. The Jaguars forced AJ Green into a fumble but Abry Jones couldn’t control it at the 10-yard line and Sanu recovered. It’s the kind of play good teams get and the Jaguars haven’t gotten there yet. It was a good defensive stand helped by an offside penalty against Green that wiped out his TD catch. A field goal ensued and the Jaguars trailed 10-3.

Maybe it’s because they’re young or maybe that’s just an excuse but the Jaguars small mistakes are blatant enough to keep them from succeeding and allowing the other team second, or easy chances. Telvin Smith missed a tackle that would have forced a Cincinnati punt. Then he apparently missed a block on the punt that allowed the Bengals to come up with a block in the end zone that resulted in a safety, 12-3 Bengals. And at the end of the half, Smith was called for unnecessary roughness after the punt on the final play of the half, pushing the kickoff back to the 20 to open the second half.

The Bengals made the Jaguars pay for that penalty, taking advantage of the field position gained and scored on their opening drive to take a 19-3 lead. And just when you thought that might be the game-got-out-of-hand moment, Blake Bortles ran the naked bootleg and threw a long pass to Alan Hurns for a TD. Hurns made a great adjustment on the ball and perhaps Bortles under threw it on purpose but either way the Jaguars scored to make it 19-10.

After a nice interception by Sherrod Martin where he broke on the ball in front of the receiver, it was the small things that kept the Jaguars from scoring. Denard Robinson ran through a gaping hole only to get in front of himself trying to run down field and fell after a decent but not great gain. Then on 2nd down Bortles didn’t throw the ball downfield enough for Toby Gerhart to go get it, incomplete. Incomplete on third down and they were forced to punt. The plays were there; the jaguars just didn’t make them when it counted.

Special teams bit the Jaguars again, allowing a long punt return by Adam (Pacman) Jones followed by a TD pass from Dalton to Green, again, 26-10 Bengals.

Again, the Jaguars fight back, scoring on another nice adjustment by Hurns in the end zone against double coverage made the score 26-16 and the Jaguars decided to go for two. Cecil Shorts couldn’t hold the conversion in the end zone and they were still down by 10. I know the card probably says go for 2 there but why not kick the PAT and be down by nine where a FG and a TD wins the game for you?

Still, a really nice play by JT Thomas called an interception on a Dalton fumble/pass led to a TD for the Jaguars and they’re now down by 2, 26-23 with just over 8 minutes to play. It’s the first game with two interceptions for the Jaguars in 2014. That’s where with 10 minutes to play I think you kick the PAT and have a chance to win the game. I know if you had made the 2-pt conversion you’d be playing for a chance to tie, but that’s hindsight.

No matter though because Josh Scobee kicked the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, giving the ball to the Bengals at the 40. On the first play, Jeremy Hill ripped off a 60-yard TD, breaking tackles along the way to give Cincy a 33-23 lead. Again, little things, like a kick out of bounds by a veteran player gave the Bengals a chance. And they cashed it in.

But again the Jaguars responded, marching down the field with a couple of nice catches by Hurns and a strong run by Gerhart on third down that showed what he can do when healthy. But again, Bortles threw into traffic in the end zone and the ball was intercepted ending the rally. Bad decision by Blake after looking at his first two reads and finding nobody open, in that situation, he needs to throw it into the stands and live to play another day. Instead, Cincinnati got the ball and ground the clock.

Again this week, it’s the little things that look big that got the Jaguars beat. They fall to 1-8 and head to London to face the Cowboys. Fortunes can change in this league quickly, just look at Dallas. Riding high and getting accolades as potentially the best team in the league, the Cowboys have lost two straight and probably won’t have Tony Romo in London to face the Jaguars.

If Gus wants a “take this show anywhere” philosophy, it’ll be tested this week, that’s for sure.

“Run the football, stop the run.” That’s the mantra of almost every NFL coach but for the Jaguars this year, half of that equation has been non-existent. Trying to change things on the offensive line, the scheme and the backs running the ball, the Jaguars have gone nowhere on the ground, currently 32nd in rushing in the league.

“Running the ball changes so many things, makes so many things easier,” head coach Gus Bradley said this week. “It forces the 8 in the box to respect the run, and the play action opens up the passing game. It changes things.”

Bradley’s right, but the Jaguars have been so ineffective with the run that other teams don’t even respect it. With a very young offensive line and backs that are still learning the position and the professional game, it’s been tough sledding for the Jaguars. Even the addition of Toby Gerhart in the offseason is still a work in progress. Gerhart hasn’t been completely healthy since week one and won’t play again this week against the Browns.

Statistically, quarterback Blake Bortles has been somewhat average, but he’s giving the Jaguars fans hope and a glimpse into a brighter future. Athletic and smart, Bortles moves in the pocket, looks downfield and makes some beautiful throws. Conversely, he’s thrown the ball to the other team too often, gets fooled by disguised coverages and occasionally has missed wide-open receivers. In other words, he’s a rookie learning the game. But he’s learning along with the other rookies on offense. The Jaguars are playing with six rookies on offense (Bortles, Johnson, Robinson, Lee, Bowanko, Linder) and rookies Alan Hurns and Nic Jacobs will also play. Add Luke Joeckel, technically still a rookie (he only played 5 games last year) and you have an unprecedented number of young players in the game at the same time. That’s not generally a recipe for success in the NFL. Even some of the greatest players in the game struggled their first year in the league. Troy Aikman won one game his rookie year. Peyton Manning won three.

So the focus is still on getting better, but at least Gus Bradley has admitted that so far it hasn’t been good enough. “If we’ve been striving for victory,” he said this week, “maybe we need to strain for victory. So far, we haven’t earned it.”

And that’s what it comes down to again for the Jaguars franchise. For all the moves, talk and histrionics about who’s playing where and when things will start to turn around, the key is just playing better. Sometimes that takes more time than most people would like to give. For the rest of 2014 the Jaguars will be an underdog in every game, including today against Cleveland. Realistically there are only a handful of games left you’d think the Jaguars have enough firepower and talent on the roster to win, and today is one of them. Perhaps next week against Miami, the home game against Tennessee and the two matchups remaining against Houston.

Today would be nice though.

Sometimes it’s not about the stats, first downs, time of possession, completions, rushing yards and the like. Sometimes it’s about the eye test. And having seen every play the Jaguars have run this year, when it comes to the eye test, there’s no question they’re getting better. Health has something to do with it and the Jaguars were as healthy as they’ve been all year against the Titans. Only Toby Gerhart was out of this game because of injury.

In the first quarter against Tennessee having a healthy receiving corps showed as the Jaguars took the opening drive 80 yards in 7 plays to take a 7-0 lead. It’s the second straight game the Jaguars have scored on the opening possession. Blake Bortles threw a beautiful pass to Clay Harbor going away from him at an angle for a 59-yard gain. Storm Johnson got a one-yard carry for the TD.

With that momentum on their side, the Jaguars immediately gave up a 50-yard return by Jacksonville native Leon Washington. The defense was incredibly inconsistent, stopping the Titans cold occasionally and then letting receivers run free through the secondary with blown assignments.

All of that resulted in a 7-3 lead after the 1st quarter. Bortles is growing into the part, a real leader on offense. His footwork is key, creating both velocity and accuracy on his passes. Some were high against the Titans but the healthy receiving corps hauled them in and the Jaguars moved the ball offensively.

It came to a grinding halt as the Titans put the clamps on the Jaguars offense, pressuring Bortles and recording three sacks in the half. On defense, the Titans had receivers running free through the secondary, a sign of a blown assignment, especially in the middle of the field. They still haven’t figured out how to cover the tight end, no matter who’s in the game for the Jaguars. They started Demetrius McCray at corner but he must have looked out of place once too often and was replaced by Dwayne Gratz. McCray returned to the lineup in the third quarter. Jonathan Cyprien and Josh Evans are always a step late covering a crossing pattern and without enough pressure, that play is always open.

It was more of the same as the second half started. Open receivers combined with two third down penalties on the Jaguars kept Tennessee’s drive alive. A good stop on the goal line by Telvin Smith forced the Titans into a field goal and a 13-7 lead.

With about half of the third quarter gone is where good teams stick their foot in the ground and start to force their will on the other side. While the Jaguars are far from a good team, the Titans are no great shakes either. So this is where a game can either get interesting, or start to slip away.

The Jaguars backed themselves up with a penalty on the kick return but with a couple of key third down conversions had a good drive going as the 3rd quarter wound down. Just one score behind, any points would continue the momentum. When Gus Bradley talks about consistency, he’s talking about two failed plays on that drive that changed everything. They had Jordan Todman singled up on a defensive end, running down the field and while the ball was just a hair underthrown, Todman couldn’t make the catch. Two plays later, Bortles missed a wide-open Harbor on a simple out route about 20 yards down the field leading to a third down. Because they couldn’t covert on either of those plays, Bortles was in a third and long and went to Alan Hurns for the first down but Hurns slipped and the ball was intercepted.

So while the Titans weren’t exactly forcing their will on the Jaguars, the Jaguars couldn’t get out of their own way. Tennessee kicked a field goal to make it 16-7, a two score game.

Back on offense the Jaguars started to move the ball downfield, running and passing, some planned, some improvisation. Just when they got in some rhythm, driving toward the goal line, Cecil Shorts coughed the ball up inside the 10 and the game seemed over right there. Of all the players, Shorts is the one who’s supposed to know how important it is in that situation to cover and protect the football.

A TD pass from Bortles to Harbor with 30 seconds left brought the Jaguars within 2 and the Jaguars recovered the on-side kick. With no timeouts they moved close enough for Josh Scobee to attempt a field goal from 55-yards but it was blocked and 16-14 was the final.

It’s there, you can see it, but too many mistakes at crucial times cost the Jaguars chances to win their first game of the year.

They let this one slip away.

This week’s Top 20 in recognition of the Jaguars 20th anniversary looks back at the top 20 personalities in Jaguars history. There have been a few standouts that were obvious and would be obvious to hard-core or casual fans of the Jaguars franchise. Others were a bit subtler and as we got to know these players through interviews, locker room chats, charity work or developed personal relationships with some of them, parts of their personalities were revealed that you never would have believed.

A lot of candidates for the top of the list but John Jurkovic comes in at number one. Funny, frank, sometimes so blunt you wanted to ask him if he really wanted to say that, “Jurko” was part of the daily conversation among anybody interested in the Jaguars during his time here. Called his gut “the boiler” and delivered the needle to everybody. Parlayed his personality to a second career as a sports talk radio host in Chicago.

Trying to change the culture of a downtrodden franchise is a difficult task. As good of a coach as he seems to be, Gus Bradley is also a big personality, capable of getting the team to “buy in” to a winning way of thinking. Could have been at number one.

Shad Khan has cut such a wide swath since buying the Jaguars he could also qualify in the top spot. He clearly enjoys the “celebrity” aspect of being a NFL owner but is truly engaging, smart, fun to listen to and fun to be around. His moustache and hair are also so distinctive that they’ve helped catapult him to the number one spot among popularity when it comes to NFL owners.

Jeff Fisher makes the top five, right in front of Tom Coughlin because he became the first personality Jaguars fans loved to hate. He had the needle out for Jacksonville since day one in public. Privately he told friends he loved to beat Coughlin because Tom acted “like he invented football.”

Coughlin is in the top 5 and has such a multi-faceted personality that he could easily make the top spot. Over the twenty years since 1995, Coughlin has morphed into somebody who understands the culture of the modern day player a bit better. If he had been willing to change his ways sooner, he’d probably still be the Jaguars Head Coach. Super smart, engaging, loyal to his friends, Coughlin is qualified virtually in any spot on this list.

Tony Boselli has a big personality and it showed on the field and in the locker room as a players. Since returning to Jacksonville, Tony has dipped his toe into politics, been part of what could be some of the solutions to civic problems with his foundation and has emerged as an easy listen as an analyst on Jaguars broadcasts.

Despite his recent troubles, for a guy who doesn’t talk, Jaxon De Ville is one of the big personalities of the Jaguars. Easily the best mascot in the NFL, Jaxon has such a big personality that he’s part of the landscape of the Jaguars in the league and internationally.

You might not think of Kyle Brady as a “personality” but I laugh every time I think of going with him on the Jaguars charter flights. He’d grab the flight attendant microphone, do imitations, and Coughlin would storm to the back of the plane. Hilarious. He once showed up at a Halloween party as the Hulk, having painted his whole body green. Very authentic. Brady has a wicked sense of humor and might be the smartest guy to ever wear the Jaguars uniform. A commercial pilot, Kyle is also a licensed financial planner and a lawyer who recently passed the bar in Florida.

Maurice Jones Drew played and spoke with a chip on his shoulder. Quirky, somewhat inconsistent, but definitely a personality. Tom McManus had the same personality as a player as he had on his popular radio show. Big opinions, sure of his position, McManus wrote screenplays in his spare time and has stayed in town to raise his family. One of the most intense players in the history of the franchise, Jeff Lageman gave no quarter to anybody not giving a hundred percent, in anything. A graduate from Virginia in economics, Lageman has used that analytical part of his brain to flourish on Jaguars broadcasts.

Linebacker Brant Boyer kept his teammates in stiches with his physical comedy. An undersized player for his position, Boyer knew how to get the needle out and leave ’em laughing.

Reggie Williams was so strange; we weren’t sure where he fit on this list. He was big on “grills” as a fashion statement and even admitted he probably lived on “Planet Reggie.” John Henderson was genuinely funny and anybody who had a trainer slap him in the face to get him ready for games had to be in the top 20. I think John was also an interior decorator in his spare time. Josh Scobee and Joe Zelenka might have broadcasting careers in front of them if they like. They both see the irony in some things that happen in football and have been staples on Jaguars.com interviewing their teammates.

Sen’Derrick Marks is always honest and fun and you can tell something goes on in the locker room when the media’s not there. His teammates are always all over him when it comes to anything he says. Nobody can joke with his teammates on this current team like Sen’Derrick.

Taking a line from Al Michaels, Dave Widell cemented his place in Jaguars history when he grabbed the mic at the stadium after the win in Denver and asked, “Do you believe in miracles,” to the assembled spontaneous crowd. Widell would give you an honest answer anytime you asked. Known all over town for his charity work and his willingness to help, he should probably be higher on this list.

Andre Branch has a sense of humor and a sardonic sense of style that spills over into his personality. The owner of more than 500 pairs of shoes, all of which he wears, he’ll intern for GQ this coming summer.

You might not know Pete Carmichael. He was the receivers coach under Coughlin. Anybody who stood in front of Coughlin at practice, moving around so Coughlin couldn’t see the team on the field, on purpose, every day, for six years, and had a laugh about it, has to be on this list.

And you might wonder why Andre Rison made the list. He’s in at #20 because he’s the nuttiest player ever to be on the team. Kooky, head shaking, eye rolling off his rocker. He’d be #1 on any list of nuts in teal and black. So he’s here.

1) John Jurkovic
2) Gus Bradley
3) Shad Khan
4) Jeff Fisher
5) Tom Coughlin
6) Tony Boselli
7) Jaxon De Ville
8) Kyle Brady
9) Maurice Jones Drew
9) Tom McManus
10) Jeff Lageman
11) Brant Boyer
12) Reggie Williams
13) John Henderson
14) Josh Scobee
15) Joe Zelenka
16) Sen’Derrick Marks
17) Dave Widdell
18) Andre Branch
19) Pete Carmichael
20) Andre Rison

Among the honorable mentions: Mike Tice as an assistant coach was likeable, a cutup, and sociable enough to say hi if he saw you out somewhere. Fred Taylor and Mark Brunell fit into a similar category but I’m not sure if it’s because of who they’ve become after their careers were over or just how long I’ve known them but both are thoughtful, funnier than you might think and guys who are trying to raise families and impact their kids.

I hosted the End Zone with Keenan McCardell so there are a few stories there from off-air that wouldn’t be fair to share but suffice to say, Keenan likes the finer things. He was always dressed impeccably, carrying a Louis Vuitton bag and gave me wristwatch envy on several occasions. Keenan also brought a “winning” and a “losing” outfit to the locker room each Sunday.

Aaron Beasley was a locker room cut up, but he saved it for his teammates. Ty Hallock was among the smartest guys to ever wear a Jaguars uniform and his dry sense of humor was never lost on his teammates. Mike Smith as the Jaguars defensive coordinator left an impact in town. He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet and did tireless charity work while he was here.

Jeff Novak was a riot to his teammates. Mark Duffner was about as subtle as you could be and still make a whole room laugh. Pete Mitchell was thoughtful and a go-to interview while Damon Jones might say anything so you had to talk with him. Plus with a nickname of “Big Sofa” you get a glimpse into his personality. Richard Collier was such a funny, engaging guy as a player and looked to be on his way to a solid career. It’s hard not to think what “might have been.

TJ Slaughter had his own clothing line and was a model. Paul Spicer and Jeremy Mincey were engaging in the locker room and funnier when the cameras were off. Mincey couldn’t live in the Gus Bradley world and that’s a shame because he could be a contributor on this team right now. He’s also passionate about his music business. Montel Owens also qualifies as one of the smartest guys to ever wear Teal and Black. A University of Maine graduate, Owens made the team as an undrafted free agent. He’s an accomplished trumpet player as well. I still scratch my head about his release. He seems like a perfect fit for the current Jaguars.

Terrance Knighton is showing the personality we knew in the locker room on his current Bridgestone tire ads. Gary Walker and Kelvin Pritchett didn’t mind calling out, fans, teammates or even the media if they thought necessary. Danny Clark saw himself as more than a football player and Paul Posluszny couldn’t be more engaging when he’s around (and not working) He’s also currently working toward his Private Pilot’s license.

And Leon Searcy deserves a mention here. Not a guy to talk much, when he did, it was usually something meaningful. He also remains the only guy in Jaguars history that, by consensus in the Channel 4 Sports Department, we wouldn’t want on the other side in an alley fight. No thanks.

Did we miss anybody? Tweet us at #jagstop20 or @Sports4Jax or just send us a note on Facebook. We’ll talk about your adds on Jaguars Friday Night.

As the assembled local and international media filed into “The Greenhouse” on the grounds of The Grove where the Jaguars are staying and practicing, a definite chill was in the air and the occasional sprinkle fell from the sky as the sun peeked in and out from behind passing clouds.

“It’s a lovely day isn’t it,” a hostess said at the door with all sincerity. Since it is November and we’re outside the city of London it actually could qualify as a “lovely” day for this time of year. This trip for the Jaguars is two weeks later than last year, so the change in the season is more defined this time around.

“It’s fine,” Allen Hurns said when asked about the weather. “Just a little different than home this time of year but no big deal.”

Hurns was appreciative of the help he’s gotten from the veteran players preparing for this trip. “Cecil (Shorts) and Cyp (Jonathan Cyprien) told us what to look for, how to prepare our bodies as professional athletes so it’s been good.”

With a day and a half to get acclimated, the Jaguars went back to work on their custom built field on the grounds at The Grove on Wednesday.

“My mind is but my body’s not,” Sen’Derrick Marks answered with a chuckle when asked if he had settled into the time change. “But I’ll be right by Sunday,” he added. If last year is any indication, Marks said the time here early in the week is a plus for adjusting, and coming a day earlier is even better. “Leaving right after the game and flying at night is better,” he told me on Monday. “Getting that rest and being able to sleep on the way over helps.” Forty-seven Jaguars players were given the first class lie-flat cabin seats for the trip over as the coaches moved back to ‘upper class” on the charter.

Starting with Wednesday, the Jaguars will have a “normal” schedule in the UK, practicing, meeting, eating and sleeping at the same times they would back home.

“It makes it seem as normal as possible,” Blake Bortles said during his press conference. “Meeting, sleeping, eating, practicing the same as home is all part of the routine.”

The players all seem to appreciate the non-scheduled time as well. Some spend time in the player’s lounge on video games, others play Ping-Pong and some sit in the “meal room” just whiling the time away with conversation.

“I noticed that a lot of guys are just hanging out together,” Gus Bradley said when asked if this trip makes the team a more close-knit group. “And not in their regular groups. Different guys are sitting together. I see that and that’s good. We’re already a close team, but maybe this will make it even better.”

Bortles agreed, “It’s like training camp just hanging around with the guys. It definitely makes us a closer team.”

Notes: Cecil Shorts stepped out of practice with a tight hamstring. Marqis Lee rolled his ankle in practice and was limited in his workout. Brandon Linder worked on the side but was held out of practice. If he can’t play the Jaguars will look at Shatley and McClendon at the RG spot. Josh Scobee said he expects the grass to be a little higher at Wembley stadium, similar to the practice field so it’s important to pick the right cleats for the game. Bradley said DeMarco Murray of the Cowboys is the rare combination of speed and “can make people miss.” Marks said Murray is “hard to bring down.” Bortles noted that the Cowboys on defense “Don’t do much, but what they do, they do very well.” Blake said that OC Jedd Fisch and Chad Henne have helped him look at other options when he turns the ball over. “If I don’t ask them, they’ll tell me.”

It’s consistently about 5 to 8 degrees (F) colder where the Jaguars are practicing this week as compared to London. Temperatures at their practice facility tonight are expected to go just below freezing. Between a 50 and 80% chance of rain is predicted for the rest of the week both where the Jaguars are staying and in London for the game. The forecast is for just around 50 degrees (F) at kickoff and going down from there.

Starting the game, the Jaguars defense looked like it had a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Last in the league in just about every measurable category, their pride is injured. Former Jaguars defensive end and current radio color analyst Jeff Lageman said as much in the pregame show,

“These guys are veterans. Two won a Super Bowl last year. Nobody is more frustrated and angry than they are. I expect them to play better.”

He turned out to be prophetic early on. When you look at the array of talent on offense for San Diego, it’s hard not to shudder based on the Jaguars lack of ability to stop anybody. Phillip Rivers is one of the top five quarterbacks in the league. Antonio Gates might go to the Hall of Fame. Add a running game and wide receivers who can fly, and you have the makings of a blowout.

But early in the half the Jaguars defensive line put the stops on the Chargers running game and harassed Rivers enough to keep it close.

The offense also did it’s job, putting up 12 first downs in the first half on 15-17 passing by rookie Quarterback Blake Bortles. Making his first NFL start, Bortles looked poised and made the tough throws when he needed to guiding the Jaguars to 14 points.

Give Rivers credit though. He was 16-18 in the first half for 207 yards and two TD’s, the last one a beautiful crossing route to Eddie Royal (his second TD catch of the day) beating Winston Guy to give the Chargers a 17-14 lead. Giving up 17 points to the Chargers in one half is respectable, only trailing by 3 after 30 minutes is like being on a different planet than last week.

To start the second half, the Chargers took the kickoff and marched down the field in 9 plays, a 24 yard Rivers to Malcolm Floyd TD pass for the score. 24-14 SD. Demetrius McCray was in man coverage against Floyd and Rivers got just the coverage and time he was looking for. When a backup corner comes in the game, the top QB’s recognize it and go after them.

When you go with a rookie QB you’re going to have growing pains. Bortles was baited into an interception by veteran DB Brandon Flowers. While Cecil Shorts didn’t do him any favors by just standing there, Bortles didn’t see Flowers hiding behind Shorts and thought he was open. Instead Flowers stepped up and picked it off. The defense held them to a FG, 27-14. Bortles will learn not to throw that pass but Shorts has to keep moving after he sits in his spot and isn’t the primary target.

Through three quarters the defense had only given up 22 yards on the ground but a whopping 353 in the air. I wouldn’t say the offense didn’t help a bit because they did put together a few sustained drives but somewhere, pass coverage and pass rush aren’t getting the job done. Once Gratz left the game the Jaguars were putting together makeshift coverage, especially in their nickel package and Rivers always found the open man.

I wasn’t sure what Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch was doing on offense in the 3rd quarter either, constantly going to the short route and some kind of misdirection. Nothing downfield. Maybe he didn’t think the young offensive line could protect well enough but occasionally you have to air it out. And even though they had some success with Gerhart running the ball on third and short, they didn’t stick to it and turned it over on downs. If you have a power back on your roster, give him the ball, twice if necessary, to gain a yard.

The rest of the game was try this, try that for both teams. Bortles did make an incredible athletic play to hit Clay Harbor on 3rd down for 30 yards to keep one drive alive. Last week, he threw that ball in that situation across the field and it was picked off. He admitted after the game he learned from that play and looked downfield instead.

While there are no moral victories in pro sports, this one felt a little better with flashes of what the possibilities might be.

“It’s about consistency,” Zane Beadles said in the locker room. “Blake’s right, you have to make those plays over and over and while we did it in the first half, we didn’t in the second.”

The defense is suffering from almost the exact same thing. First and second down are going well, but big chunks of yardage are being given up on third down, especially to teams that can throw the ball.

“We need consistency,” Andre Branch said. “All of us need to do our job. On every play. It doesn’t work any other way unless you do your job and trust what we’re doing.”

I wouldn’t say Branch called out any of his teammates but it was obvious that he was biting his tongue, not naming names but knowing where the problems lie.

Somewhere in the secondary, the Jaguars need help and need to get the kind of consistent play that would give them a chance to stay in games. Josh Evans replaced Winston Guy in the lineup this week, but with the injury to Dwayne Gratz, Guy was pressed into service in the nickel package. He was the player chasing Eddie Royal on his second TD. That’s the kind of play that lacks consistency and enables other teams to get the big play.

This week the Jaguars will work on that, but if they don’t get it fixed, the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger will have a similar day as Phillip Rivers.

And nobody wants to see that again.