Jacksonville Jaguars running back Rashad Jennings fumbles during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers. The Jaguars aren't taking any solace in the fact that they were in it until the end. (US Presswire) |
It would be understandable if the Jaguars took some solace in a hard-fought, 24-15 loss at Green Bay on Sunday. The Jaguars (1-6) have struggled to be competitive in several games and few gave them a chance to compete with the Packers (5-3).
In some ways, the Jaguars outplayed Green Bay. They won the total yardage battle (341 to 238), had more passing yards (279 to 172) and held a slight edge in time of possession. They were in it until late in the fourth quarter.
But the Jaguars aren't taking much comfort in the losing effort.
“There are always positives,” Jaguars defensive end Austen Lane told the team's official website. "At the same time, you can’t put an asterisk next to the loss and say, ‘Oh, we played really tough, so that’s OK.’ We still got beat. That’s the bottom line. Obviously, we’re not happy with ourselves. We saw a lot of good things and things we can improve on, but we got beat and no one in this locker room is satisfied.”
Coach Mike Mularkey echoed Lane's comments but also said he sees some of those positives eventually turning into what the team is really after -- wins.
“The frustrating part was there were some positive things in that game,” Mularkey said. “That doesn’t account for wins. What we’re looking for, as I said yesterday, is progress in some areas. That’s what we want to continue to do. If we continue to progress in certain things we’re doing and we know we’re capable of doing, I think wins will come of it.”
Shorts emerging as the No. 1 WR: Many projected WR Cecil Shorts to be the fourth WR in the rotation during the preseason behind Laurent Robinson, Justin Blackmon and Mike Thomas.
Shorts has worked his way up. Now there's an argument that he might be the No. 1 WR, especially while Robinson (concussion) is out. He has led all WRs in total snaps played the last two weeks, has been targeted 22 times during that span and leads the team with 12 receptions for 195 yards.
Injury update: RB Maurice Jones-Drew (foot) and S Dwight Lowery (ankle) have already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Detriot Lions.
The status of Robinson, CB Derek Cox (back) and CB Rashean Mathis (groin) will be determined later in the week, according to the Florida Times-Union.
For more Jaguars news and analysis, follow Daniel Lewis @CBSJags