Jacksonville Jaguars aim to pull off difficult win vs Detroit Lions – NFL Preview
Odds are slightly in favour of the visitors Detroit Lions being hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday (Nov. 04) but the Jaguars too have an outside chance to claim a win and it should not be a surprise given the hosts have lately shown to be a competitive
side, irrespective of the fact that they could not win those games.
Their on-road 23-26 loss to the Oakland Raiders and 15-24 to the Green Bay Packers have improved the team’s overall rating despite the fact that it does not satisfy coach Mike Mularkey. He has backed the team to avoid some mistakes to make sure they can
win games like these two.
He said:
"The things that are not allowing us to win these games when we have chances, it's got to stop. If we continue to progress in certain things that we're doing, that we know we're capable of doing, I think wins will come with it.”
In contradiction to the coach’s hopes and management’s expectations, the Jaguars have only single win and now find themselves in a must-win situation for the rest of the season if they want to stay in the playoff race, which is increasingly becoming difficult
for them.
The team stays at bottom of the AFC South division, led by the Houston Texans and followed by the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans. While the visitors Lions have three wins and four loss, which although is not an impressive record, it makes them
a likely contender for the weekend win.
Again, the key for the Jaguars will be how their offence performs. The performance of running back Maurice Jones-Drew and quarterback Blaine Gabbert will be crucial to their victory chances. It is rather a fresh challenge for Gabbert to show himself to have
consistently improved.
Although he has won words of praise and backing from the head coach, it is to be seen if he stays consistently well on the course of uninterrupted progression in his career. With the season almost halfway through he does not have much time left to prove
himself.
His failing again this season will worsen situation for him and reduce prospects of staying starting quarterback in the longer run, with or without Jaguars.
The QB seems to have been working hard to stay in form during all games but somehow he does not have a clue when will that happen. Almost the entire Jaguars organisation members, from owner to coaches, are monitoring his performance closely.
It is time for him to prove his critics wrong, which should also justify Mularkey’s persistence with Blaine to continue as starter of the offence in spite of his failings in the rookie year.
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