Key Film Takeaways From Jaguars' Tilt in Indianapolis

It is still bizarre how the Jaguars have managed to develop their top two pass-catchers in the offense toward the end of the regular season. If you told me Jakobi Meyers would be traded to Jacksonville to be the relief the inconsistent offense and quarterback needed, I would’ve looked at you funny. I also would’ve asked if you were ok with suggesting Parker Washington as the team’s best pure playmaker in December.

Washington has been outstanding for the last few weeks, leading the Jaguars in receiving yards in the last four weeks by a comfortable margin, including back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time in his career. Washington won’t consistently win with his size, but he plays much bigger than his frame would suggest. He possesses reliable and quality hands at the catch point, the elusiveness and creativity to win in space, and the explosiveness to win after the catch for big gains.

Washington was one of the best players on the field Sunday, and he proved that he will be a key asset to any potential postseason run Jacksonville may have in the coming weeks. With all of his recent success, one must wonder what general manager James Gladstone will do with his soon-to-be fourth-year wideout entering a contract year. This could get interesting with the money restrictions this offseason.

Montaric Brown: Cornerback One

This is the best healthy cornerback on the Jaguars roster right now. A former seventh-round pick from Arkansas, Montaric Brown has gradually become one of the most impactful defenders on Jacksonville’s defense. There was a time earlier in the offseason when he was about to battle Jarrian Jones for the No. 2 cornerback role opposite of Tyson Campbell. Now, he has quickly assumed the No. 1 defender role on the perimeter against opponents' best pass-catchers.

Brown’s best game of his career occurred on Sunday, when he only surrendered two catches for 11 yards on seven targets and a 39.6 passer rating. Watch some of the coverage reps in the montage below: when a receiver does make a catch in his vicinity, he makes an immediate stop and surrenders very little to no yards after the catch. 

Also, watch how he attacks the football on some of these repetitions—in the third clip, he does a great job maintaining and acquiring leverage against the receiver to position himself for a play on the football. This is a teach tape, kiddos, as is the sixth clip below, where Brown is initially playing outside leverage and is initially beat, but recovers splendidly, gets his head around to the football, and gets his hand at the catch point and swats the pass away for a clean defensive rep.

What happened on Trevor Lawrence's interception

Trevor Lawrence had a great game with two rushing touchdowns and an overall sound day as a passer, especially against the blitz, where he was 13 of 18 passes for 190 yards (10.6 yards per attempt). However, he did throw an interception to end the half in the red area, down three points to the Colts.

"I was very proud of the way that Trevor handled the blitz, the way that we were prepared for the pressure," said head coach Liam Coen. "We knew they were going to junk it up more."

Washington goes into motion to form a 3x1 shotgun look against a two-high shell and a defense playing a quarter-quarter-half coverage to the strong side of the field. Washington runs an out-and-up in hopes of creating separation against linebacker Germaine Pratt, the flat defender.

This ball should be placed over the top to the back-shoulder, but it would require incredible ball placement and an even tougher catch from the receiver. Lawrence underthrows this pass, while Pratt gets his head around after crossing the goal line, positions himself, tracks, and secures the interception.

The interception may cloud what was a great day from No. 16, but it is one of the rare mistakes he has made in the last month of action, a great sign nonetheless.

Travon Walker will be key in the postseason

This is the Travon Walker we haven’t seen since the early goings of the season. Expectations were high for the former No. 1 overall pick in 2022, but injuries have hampered any chance of a productive fourth season as the Jaguars consider their options on whether or not to extend him (they should).

Walker was fantastic against the Colts, becoming a fierceful force defender on the edge with his explosiveness and raw power possessed in his frame. He made a few stops in the run game himself, and that could come in handy in the postseason against run-heavy opponents.

Below, you see the three pressures from Sunday’s win by Walker. Look at how freakish his explosive capacity is off the line of scrimmage for a bigger pass rusher—the violence in his hands when making his rush move while maintaining the half-man relation to the right tackle. Then, there’s the speed-to-power bull rush that forces Philip Rivers to climb, stumble, and fall into a Josh Hines-Allen sack.

As the Jaguars look to clinch the AFC South this weekend, and make a push deep into the postseason, look for Walker to be a critical piece to the defensive success in the Wild Card round and (hopefully) beyond.

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