The Jacksonville Jaguars are entering halftime with a 9-3 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but what did we see in the first-half?
Brandon McManus has been a game-changing free-agency signing
The Jaguars would be trailing this game if they didn't sign Brandon McManus. The veteran kicker made kicks of 50 and 51 yards in poor weather conditions to give the Jaguars some much-needed points in a sloppy, grind-it-out type game. The Jaguars are confident that their offense can score as long as they get McManus anywhere within the 50-yards, something they didn't have last year with the weaker-legged Riley Patterson.
McManus is now 4-of-5 from 50+ yards this year, which is staggering considering the Jaguars only had three kicks from that range in 17 regular-season games last season. McManus was 3-of-3 in the first half and scored 100% of the Jaguars points, which is fairly big considering the conditions on the field.
The Jaguars are going to lean on Travis Etienne in the second-half
The Jaguars are clearly looking at the running game to pop at some point today, feeding Travis Etienne a staggering 14 first-half carries. There were games that Etienne started last year where he would barely hit 14 carries, but the Jaguars are giving the NFL's most-utilized running back one of the heaviest workloads of his young career. With how much the passing game has shot themselves in the foot on Sunday, expect that to continue in the second-half.
Etienne averaged over 4.0 yards per carry in the first-half and the Jaguars seemed to find more running room later in the first-half than they did early on. No other Jaguars running back touched the ball, either, with Etienne seemingly on the field for every significant play in the first-half. It doesn't feel like they have much confidence in Tank Bigsby, which should mean even more Etienne in the final two quarters
The Jaguars' offense continues to be their own worst enemy
The Jaguars' offense was mostly efficient in the first half, totaling nearly 200 yards and almost 6.0 yards per play. Two field goal scores on the first two drives were big, too, since six points is key in a sloppy game like this vs. a Mike Tomlin-led team. But the final three drives of the first-half were as poor as the Jaguars have had all season, with anywhere between 6-18 points being left on the board.
First the Jaguars got too cute and called a shovel pass to Evan Engram, with Engram fumbling after a great hit by Kwon Alexander. It was a good defensive play, but the call felt forced when the Jaguars were rolling. Then, Trevor Lawrence had maybe the worst decision of his career with a horrid end-zone interception into triple coverage. Finally, the Jaguars had to settle for three points before the end of the half after a 3rd-and-2 screen picked up nothing. The offense continues to get in their own way.
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