JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars’ pass-rush struggles are obvious and concerning. With just 12 sacks on the season, the pass-rush, or rather lack thereof, has quickly become among the team’s biggest weaknesses.
In a recent press conference, Liam Coen even admitted as much, noting the team’s struggles getting home when rushing four on the defensive side of the ball. It’s put Anthony Campanile in a tough spot calling plays.
“I was on the headset hearing him call. When you blitz, you’re a little susceptible in the back end when you blitz and when we four-man rush we’re not getting home. That’s the reality. That’s a hard place for any coach to be in,” said Coen, regarding the defensive playcalling.
Despite blitzing at the tenth highest rate (30.9%) in the NFL, the Jaguars are allowing the second most yards per game (93.9) and most touchdowns (15) when sending extra rushers, according to NextGenStats.
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It really isn’t helping the pass-rush either. The pressure is there, 13th best at 43.5%, however, the team still can’t find a way to get home. The 3.5% sack rate when blitzing ranks 31st and is only incrementally better than the 3.4% when rushing the standard four.
At its expense, the Jaguars are suffering explosive play after explosive play, including the league-leading 15 touchdowns. Opposing offenses are averaging 7.3 yards per passing play, fourth highest in the NFL against the blitz, compared to the 6.0 yards per play, 19th highest, without.
With the Chargers on deck, Campanile and the Jaguars will have to be careful as to how they attack Justin Herbert. Herbert is one of the top performing quarterbacks against the blitz, leading the NFL in yards against (1,005). In fact, he happens to be the only quarterback north of 900 yards passing against the blitz.
The Jaguars’ pass-rush is a complex issue that simply can’t be fixed in a single day.
Unfortunately, it seems the Jaguars have been sacrificing bodies on the back end in order to help facilitate pressure and sacks.
Thus far, it hasn’t really worked the way they’d hoped. It will be curious to see how Campanile attacks Justin Herbert and the Chargers. Will the sacks finally come against one of the league’s more talented and athletic quarterbacks?
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