The Jacksonville Jaguars are sticking from chenyan's blog

 with Blake Bortles as their starting quarterback.Coach Doug Marrone made the announcement Monday Brandon Linder Color Rush Jersey , one day after benching Bortles early in the third quarter of a 20-7 loss to Houston.“I spoke to both quarterbacks this afternoon and told them Blake will be our team’s starting quarterback,” Marrone said in a statement. “I believe this gives us the best opportunity to win.”More Jacksonville Jaguars newsJaguars hope newcomer RB Carlos Hyde helps Blake Bortles get back on trackJaguars will be without A.J. Bouye, 2 more cornerbacks against Eagles in LondonJaguars view annual game in London as key component of franchise’s growthDespite slump, Jaguars sticking with Blake Bortles as starting QBTempers flare in Jaguars’ locker room after lopsided loss to TexansBortles fumbled on Jacksonville’s third play in each half, leading to 10 points for the Texans and prompting Marrone to switch to Cody Kessler. Marrone said after the game he would open up the QB job for the second time in as many years. He also benched Bortles in the 2017 preseason, only to give him back the job nine days later.Marrone took less than 24 hours to go back to Bortles this time, saying he will start Sunday’s game against Philadelphia (3-4) in London.The Jaguars (3-4) have lost three in a row and four of five, derailing a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations.Jacksonville seemingly reached a low point Sunday when the locker room erupted in fiery emotion following a third consecutive lopsided loss in which the offense failed to score in the first half. Calais Campbell was seen holding back fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue when the locker room briefly opened to the media. It was the final scene of frustration that also included screaming, shouting and finger pointing.Campbell, an 11-year veteran and one of six team captains, called a players-only meetings Monday to “talk about some issues.”“Will it help?” defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. “Hopefully so. Hopefully guys will speak up and not be silent, hopefully talk about some issues that they feel are bothering them.”The Jaguars have been mostly inept on both sides of the ball during the losing streak, trailing 23-0 at Kansas City, 24-0 at Dallas and 20-0 at home against the Texans.The injury-riddled offense can’t do what it’s built to do 鈥?run the football 鈥?and has a lackluster receiving corps dropping balls at inopportune times. The high-profile defense can’t stop the run and has allowed too many big plays.“People are strained,” Jackson said. “This is a business about producing, about winning, and we’re not producing or winning right now. This locker room is not going to tear apart for a few losses. Hell, we went 3-13 our first year here.”The expectations were much higher after advancing to the AFC title game in January Jalen Ramsey Jersey , which is why the locker room started to crack and crumble.“You can’t have little groups or little indecision of what is the right way or the proper way. You have to get everyone in the same boat,” Marrone said, pointing out the team is minus-12 in turnover differential. “We have done this to ourselves, and the only people going to be able to dig us out of it is ourselves. But we all have to have the same vision on how to do it.“My thing to the team is we can go in all of these different directions, but if these two things do not change, those two things do not change, those directions aren’t going to matter.”Bortles was the scapegoat Sunday, with Marrone making the move to “put everyone on notice.”Bortles completed 6 of 12 passes for 61 yards, fumbling twice on third-down scrambles.Kessler came off the bench and had a short touchdown pass to T.J. Yeldon, but he was sacked four times in five drives, plus threw an interception and fumbled.It’s really not that surprising Marrone stuck with Bortles. The team signed him to a three-year, $54 million contract in February with the belief he was good enough to lead the defensive-minded team back to the playoffs.Bortles played turnover-free football in the postseason, gaining top executive Tom Coughlin’s confidence and landing the new contract. He’s played with far less efficiency lately, managing two TD passes and eight turnovers in the three straight losses.NOTES: The Jaguars released veteran running back Jamaal Charles three days after acquiring Carlos Hyde from Cleveland. Hyde is expected to play a significant role against the Eagles. … Marrone said injured RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) will travel to London. The Jacksonville Jaguars start the second quarter of the season at raucous Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs at 1:00pm EST.For anyone not traveling to Kansas City for the game, we have a treat in the booth this week:UNIFORM WATCH: Debut of new white tops and black trousers for Sunday.Ed. Note: YaaaaaaaassssssssssOpponentRiding into week five with an undefeated record, the Chiefs are working on a short week after overcoming a ten-point fourth quarter deficit on the road against divisional rival Denver Broncos. The result probably works in favor of the Jaguars as the Chiefs will roll into this game with an air of invincibility, which is always dangerous from a sports psychology standpoint.Offensively, the Chiefs are playing chess while the rest of the NFL is playing checkers. Patrick Mahomes is 5-0 in his career as an NFL starter and has seemingly taken his Big 12 offense with him from Texas Tech as he is currently on pace for 56 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. When you factor in his computer-like processing https://www.jaguarsfanstore.com/Leonard-Fournette-Jersey , quick release, arm strength, and improvisational skills outside the pocket, Mahomes becomes almost impossible to stop and unlikely to contain. Combine these rare attributes with offensive weapons that include Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, and Kareem Hunt out of the backfield, and the Chiefs are a recipe for explosive play headaches. There will be times in this game where Todd Wash will scheme up the ideal play call, it will be perfectly executed, and Mahomes will still find a way to complete a pass, which will be frustrating for fans and players alike. I expect the Jags to put Tashaun Gipson in man coverage on Kelce for most of the game and play press man on the outside to take advantage of their size at the cornerback position, jamming the receivers off the line to give the defensive line an extra second to apply pressure. This can be an extremely boom-or-bust game in regards to the defense compiling some sacks and takeaways, but their league-leading 14 points allowed per game will likely take a hit this week. My guy to keep an eye on this week? Tight end Demetrius Harris.While everyone in the country will be tuning in to see the top ranked offense against the top ranked defense, it’s actually the other units that will most likely decide this game. The Chiefs defense has been fairly miserable so far this season, allowing a league-high 451 total yards and 28 first downs per game. Nathanial Hackett and the Jaguars will need to continue to throw on first down to open up the run and allow T.J. Yeldon to add to Chiefs’ 5.7 allowed yards per carry average. Coming off a career high in passing yards, Blake Bortles will need to keep the momentum going against a secondary that likely won’t be able to keep up with the speed that the Jaguars have at wide receiver, and expect the Chiefs to attack with zone coverages to take away the Jaguars’ staple crossing routes. As poorly as the Chiefs defense has performed across the board, here is one interesting tidbit to keep in mind – they currently rank first in third down defense Keelan Cole Color Rush Jersey , and when the defense has had to make a stop to win the game (like a three and out to give Mahomes the ball back in the fourth quarter on Monday), they’ve answered the bell.For some thoughts from the Chiefs’ persepctive, check out Ryan O’Bleness’ crossover piece with Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride.StorylinesOffense wins games, defense wins championships. Is that adage true?Well, in the last seven top ranked offense versus top ranked defense regular season match ups, the offensive team has won six of them. Not great for the Jaguars. With that being said, the NFL hasn’t really seen a defense like this in almost a decade.The Chiefs are also benefactors of playing in the loudest stadium in the NFL, and in a deafening environment like Arrowheard, the Jaguars are going to need be on the same page in regards to communication on the offensive line and snap counts. This is where it is crucial that veteran center and communication captain Brandon Linder suits up this week, and hopefully Hackett has a plan in place where they can mitigate the noise with silent snap counts. Don’t expect too many “Sunday, Sunday” (hand claps) from Bortles this week.The other major storyline for this week is the weather forecast, which is calling for 100% chance of rain. I can’t remember the last time Blake Bortles has had to play in extremely rainy conditions (perhaps someone can assist on this in the comments), but he struggled mightily last year in cold and windy conditions on the road in Tennessee. Conversely, Mahomes’ arm is so strong that it shouldn’t matter whether he is playing in rain or shine. Logically, the rain should favor the Chiefs, who can take advantage of some poor punts on special teams and benefit from the absence of Leonard Fournette to churn out tough, ugly yards. Key matchupsJalen Ramsey vs. Tyreek HillI understand that Ramsey won’t be traveling with Cheetah and they won’t be single-matched often, but the back-and-forth diatribe this week will make this must-see TV. My biggest concern when they are matched up is how aggressively Ramsey plays curl and hook routes Malik Jackson Jersey , anchoring and driving to break and make a play on the football. This mentality can really make Ramsey susceptible to a Hill double move, and if Ramsey bites, it will be over.Austin Seferian-Jenkins vs. Anthony HitchensNo Eric Berry yet this season means that the Chiefs have struggled mightily against tight ends so far this season. ASJ isn’t having a huge year statistically, but this might be his break out game for the Jaguars offense, and I would expect Hackett to try and attack the seams early while the Chiefs back seven are overly-concerned with short crossers underneath.Dede Westbrook vs. Orlando ScandrickScandrick has taken most of the slot reps in nickel and he has not played very well since signing his one-year deal in Kansas City. His lack of foot speed at this stage in his career has been glaring, and it wouldn’t be surprising in the least if the Chiefs match up their best cornerback in Kendall Fuller, who was one of the league’s best nickels in Washington, on Westbrook to even up the match up. Of course, doing this will weaken them on the perimeter for Donte Moncrief and Keelan Cole to challenge deep against one of the weaker starting safety duos in the league.Calais Campbell vs. Mitchell SchwartzSchwartz has played like the best right tackle in football across the first four weeks and Calais Campbell will have his hands full in trying to get to the quarterback. I would expect Campbell to slide inside next to Malik Jackson a ton this week in obvious passing situations and give Dante Fowler Jr.’s speed a go against Schwartz. The Jaguars will need to bring a ton of pressure to make Mahomes uncomfortable to have a chance. Josh Wells vs. Justin HoustonJosh Wells has performed admirably so far in relief duty for the injured Cam Robinson, but he hasn’t necessarily squared off against a world-beater edge rusher to this point. That will change this week against Justin Houston, and Dee Ford is no slouch either in the event they flip their outside linebackers. Ford has been dealing with a groin injury this season, but he was their most effective rusher last week. This will undoubtedly be Wells’ biggest test of the season.Final predictionI can hear Alfie’s voice now — “How are the Chiefs supposed to score 30 points?” I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do this week. I think the Jaguars will struggle containing Mahomes in the pocket similar to Marcus Mariota a few weeks ago, and the only difference is Mahomes has a howitzer of an arm compared to Mariota’s water gun. My feeling is that the Jaguars offense will get the ball in a two-minute drill situation where they need a touchdown and Bortles and company won’t be able to overcome the crowd noise and inclement weather.I think Chiefs win 30-24.