Jacksonville Jaguars
vs.
San Diego Chargers
Week 2
NFL Pick
9/18/16
Week 2’s matchup between the Jaguars and the Chargers may very well be the best matchup of 0-1 teams there is. Both teams had narrow defeats in their respective openers. Jacksonville lost at home 27-23 to the Green Bay Packers. San Diego lost on the road, 33-27, to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime. San Diego is a 3-point favorite and the over/under is at 47, ACCording to 5 Dimes.
Both teams had ample opportunity to win in Week 1, but neither team could close the door on their opponent. The Jaguars drove deep into Green Bay territory but stalled with Fourth-and-1 at the Packers 14-yard line with a screen pass that lost yardage. San Diego had their own share of heartbreak after blowing a 17-3 halftime lead to the Chiefs.
Blake Bortles had a solid start to the 2016 season after a much-improved second season in the NFL last year. He threw for 330 yards, one touchdown and one interception while completing over 60 percent of his passes. He must continue improving his ability to take care of the football. As a rookie in 2014, Bortles averaged throwing one interception every 27.9 pass attempts. Last year he took a step forward, throwing an interception oNCe every 33.7 pass attempts. On Sunday, Bortles’ lone interception came on 39 attempts — far better than last year’s pace.
Bortles has plenty of targets to get the ball to. Allen Hurns caught Four passes for 75 yards, iNCluding the Fourth-and-1 one-yard loss to end Jacksonville’s chances. Allen Robinson had 72 receiving yards on six receptions, and Julius Thomas had 64 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Thomas did, however, suffer a sprained ankle in the loss and is listed as “questionable” heading into Week 2.
Jacksonville has plenty of firepower in the passing Game but must do better in the running Game. T.J. Yeldon was held to 39 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. That’s just 1.9 yards per carry. No other Jaguar player carried the ball more than three times in the Game.
Philip Rivers led the way, in defeat, for the Chargers in Week 1. He threw the ball 36 times, completing 25 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown. Rivers guided San Diego to a 24-3 lead with 6:02 left in the third quarter and a 27-10 lead with 13:24 remaining in the Fourth, but the offense largely stalled out from there.
Tyrell Williams was a big playmaker for the Chargers with two receptions for 71 yards. But San Diego suffered a big loss as well. Keenan Allen caught six passes for 63 yards but went down, tearing his right ACL, and is done for the year. In 2015 Allen had over 700 yards receiving in only eight Games and seemed primed for a big season.
Danny Woodhead and Melvin Gordon provided a fairly productive duo out of the backfield in Week 1. Woodhead ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards, and Gordon GAined 57 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. They will have to continue to contribute in a meaningful way as Rivers attempts to spread the ball around without Allen.
Prediction: The Jaguars showed a lot of potential as they dueled with the Packers in Week 1. They were a Fourth-down conversion away from potentially setting up a Game-winning score. San Diego GAve up a ton to Kansas City in the second half. Jacksonville ought to be able to move the ball well as they continue to mature. Allen’s injury is definitely hurtful to San Diego’s potential. Jaguars +3 and OVER 47