The Jacksonville Jaguars were hoping to return to glory in 2019. Their method was simple, bring back their dangerous defense and get a quarterback who could lead the offense. They believed they had done that with the signing of Nick Foles.
However, they never really got to see how that would work out. Foles threw a gorgeous touchdown pass early in their Week 1 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs.
That's where the good news stopped though. Foles broke his left collarbone and had to leave the game. He was placed on the IR and is expected to be out for a while. Although he could return this year, it won't be until much later in the season at best.
The Jaguars used rookie Gardner Minshew for the rest of the game on Sunday, and he looked surprisingly solid. Asking him to do that on a weekly basis is going a little overboard though.
Jacksonville also brought in Josh Dobbs in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Again, expecting too much from him is not wise.
So what exactly should be expected from not just the quarterback play, but the whole team? Can the Jaguars survive without Nick Foles? Will this team still be in playoff contention come his return (if it does indeed happen)?
Jacksonville suddenly finds them in a boat very similar to what they were in last year. They have a talented defense, but a questionable offense with no answer at quarterback.
Nick Foles was supposed to be the remedy to that. He isn't an elite quarterback, but Foles is extremely reliable and could limit the turnovers. He could also get the ball down the field enough that the Jaguars offense should have improved pretty significantly in scoring.
Now they have two unknowns. Gardner Minshew looked great, but has one game under his belt now. Meanwhile, Josh Dobbs has been in the NFL for longer, but actually has less passing attempts. The former Steelers quarterback has just 12 attempts for 43 yards and an interception.
That's it. Those are the two other quarterbacks on the roster.
With that in mind, the clear move is Minshew. He's been with the team longer and definitely impressed in his first regular season game.
So Minshew is the quarterback, for now. Can he hold the Jaguars above water until the boat arrives?
Wait, no. The boat as in Nick Foles being the starting quarterback who can keep his team from sinking. Not Blake Bortles, the BOAT.
To answer that question, you have to look at the team in sections. The defense will pull it's weight. Yes, they had a bad game on Sunday – but they were going up against a historic offense. Patrick Mahomes is as legit as they come at quarterback and that offense could do unheard-of things this season.
Expect the defense to be much more productive from here on out.
Meanwhile, Leonard Fournette looks healthy and to be in great shape. He might have fumbled, but he did manage 5.1 yards per carry and looks ready to carry a heavy load this year – especially with Foles out.
The receivers aren't elite but they're very solid. Dede Westbrook is fantastic. Meanwhile, Chris Conley had a surprisingly strong first game with Jacksonville. Of course, rookie DJ Chark showed all types of potential and should create some quick scoring plays.
The Jaguars offensive line looked great as well, and were doing so when protecting Minshew.
Overall, Minshew went 22-for-25 with 275 yards and two touchdowns (compared to one interception). If he could give the team those numbers every game, no one would ever complain.
That won't be the case though. Like any rookie, Minshew's going to have his struggles. There will be games (likely pretty often) where the team shouldn't be relying on him to do the brunt of the work.
Jacksonville's game plan should be to make big plays on defense and keep the other team from scoring. Meanwhile, on offense they should feature a heavy running attack and keep Minshew's attempts per game to around 25.
If they can do that, that means they've likely got a command on the running game. It will also limit mistakes and with the big play potential on the offense, Minshew could still hit his receivers for touchdowns and help keep the offense moving.
The real issue is the schedule though. Jacksonville's got a lot of tough games coming up (Texans, Titans, Panthers and Saints to name a few). They'll have to play pretty mistake free in those games.
Minshew proved he can do that for the most part on Sunday though. So maybe crazier things have happened.
No, this team won't be winning games every week. They'll compete though. They'll compete and they'll stay afloat until Nick Foles returns. All I'm saying is, don't count the Jacksonville Jaguars out just yet.
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