U-G-L-Y. Whether that describes the Jacksonville Jaguars ridiculous Color Rush uniforms or not in your mind, it certainly describes the play of the team under head coach Gus Bradley.
After a season that saw Blake Bortles lead the NFL in passing attempts, completions and yards, things have gone off the rails in 2016. Following Thursday night’s 36-22 loss (a score that was much closer than the game actually was), the Jaguars slipped to 2-5 on the season in the AFC South, arguably the worst division in the NFL.
This after somewhat hands-off owner Shad Khan got right in the middle of this situation trying to figure out why, after all the free agency spending, his team is struggling so badly. Then the Jaguars go out and lays an absolute egg against the Tennessee Titans?
One would think that means head coach Gus Bradley’s job is in danger, but that’s not the case, according to Khan. Speaking to the Florida Times-Union‘s Ryan O’Halloran, the Jags owner didn’t say Bradley was under pressure while saying very little. But Khan also said it all at the same time.
Khan to Times-Union – "Actions speak louder than words. Very little for me to say."
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) October 28, 2016
Khan also went on to tell the Jaguars beat writer that he would not be firing Bradley at this time.
It isn’t as if firing Bradley right now would turn around the season and make the Jags a sudden playoff contender. But it is worth noting that after getting some talented young players to pop up last year and spending to help push them over the edge towards the playoffs, this team has gone backwards in a big way.
The loss pushed Bradley to just 14-41 in his 55 games at the helm of the Jags.
If that wasn’t bad enough for you, just think of how inept the team was in the first half of Thursday night’s loss, per O’Halloran:
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First-half yards: Tennessee 354, Jaguars 60. The Titans’ yardage total was a first-half high in the NFL this year. At one point, it was 260-29.
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First-half penalty yards: Jaguars 50, Tennessee 14. Jalen Ramsey (late hit) and Dante Fowler (punching a player) showed no poise; the Jaguars used to play with discipline but not this year.
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First-half first downs: Tennessee 20, Jaguars 3. The Jaguars didn’t run a play in Titans territory until six minutes remained in the second quarter. Their five first-half drives resulted in five punts.
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First-half score: Tennessee 27, Jaguars 0. It was the second-biggest halftime deficit of the Bradley Era, behind only Indianapolis’ 30-0 lead in Week 3 of 2014; Blake Bortles’ career started at halftime.
Clearly, all of the spending and all of the hope that Blake Bortles was taking the steps towards becoming a superstar quarterback haven’t panned out.
This team has the individual talent to be really good, it just hasn’t put it all together as a collective and that is on Bradley. Continued performances like the one that happened on Thursday will likely spell doom for his tenure. That is, if his fate hasn’t already been decided, but just not announced by Khan.