NFL teams
Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Blake Bortles on Jaguars' offense against Titans: 'That's bad'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' offense stunk on Sunday.

There's no other way to put it. No reason to soften the blow. And nobody who played on that side of the ball in the 9-6 loss to Tennessee at TIAA Bank Field will argue that Jacksonville's offense didn't stink. Scoring just two field goals at home -- even without running back Leonard Fournette -- is unacceptable.

"We had the looks we wanted and we just didn't execute as football players, and we've got to hold ourselves accountable to the team and to the defense," tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins said. "And most importantly ourselves. We put something on tape last week and then we come and do this.

"When the defense holds them to nine [points], we've got to win. We have more than enough talent to win, and it's unfortunate we let the D down today."

What made Sunday's performance even more disappointing was how good the offense looked the previous weekend against New England. The Jaguars put up 481 yards -- including 377 yards and four TDs passing by Blake Bortles -- without Fournette. Nine players caught passes. They had a game plan for Corey Grant in space to take advantage of his speed. They were aggressive on first downs (20 pass plays called).

It looked completely different against the Titans. Just 232 yards. Only one play longer than 15 yards, and that was a 19-yard completion at the end of the game that involved a lateral after the catch. Only one drive that went longer than 34 yards. Grant being used as a true tailback and getting carries up the middle, partly because T.J. Yeldon was dealing with an ankle injury. Not trying to stretch the field.

Most importantly, the Jaguars managed just two field goals, marking the second straight game against the Titans in which Jacksonville failed to score an offensive touchdown.

"We hurt ourselves," Bortles said. "We had stupid penalties. We had drops. I missed some throws. We've got to not hurt ourselves. Especially [with] our defense and the way they play, we've got to score one touchdown and win the game.

"To go out there and score six points in four quarters, that's bad as an offense. You've got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone."

The Jaguars were down three offensive starters -- Fournette (hamstring), right guard A.J. Cann (triceps) and left tackle Cam Robinson (torn ACL) -- so that played a factor. So did drops by Keelan Cole and DJ Chark. Bortles missed some easy throws, as well, and had three other throws deflected at the line of scrimmage.

The Titans' defensive game plan was to keep everything in front of them and not get beat deep, and Jacksonville wasn't able to get into any kind of rhythm. The few times it did, it self-destructed. A delay-of-game penalty followed by a sack. An overthrow. A holding penalty and then a drop.

The Jaguars' best drive of the day came late in the third and early into the fourth quarter. They moved the ball from their own 12 to the Tennessee 25, but a holding penalty by right guard Chris Reed -- subbing for Cann -- pushed them back, and they eventually had to settle for a game-tying field goal.

The Jaguars certainly weren't at full strength with the injuries to Fournette, Cann, Robinson and Yeldon, but that's still no excuse for failing to score a touchdown at home for the first time since a 17-9 loss to Pittsburgh in Week 5 in 2014. Not when there were chances to get points.

"We stopped ourselves pretty much," receiver Donte Moncrief said. "... We weren't ourselves today. We've got to throw that out and get ready for next week."

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