The Cleveland Browns (7-3) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) will enter the final stretch of their regular season when they face off on Sunday afternoon. These two AFC teams find themselves in very different situations in the final six games of the season. The Browns are second in the AFC North and tied for third in the AFC overall, while the Jaguars are last in the AFC South and the second-worst in the conference as a whole. These teams haven’t met since November of 2017, where the Jaguars beat the Browns 19-7.
Injury Riddled Browns Look For Third Straight Victory
The Cleveland Browns have had a rough go of things, as of late. It might not show on the field- they enter their game against the Jaguars on a two-game winning streak, but the Browns are shorthanded. Both injuries and illness have struck the Browns. Denzel Ward is still considered week to week, though it’s possible he might be moved to IR soon. Cleveland has several other players dealing with injuries, as well as more and more testing positive for COVID-19. One of those is sack monster Myles Garrett, who is a destructive force at defensive end. Luckily for Cleveland, their two best rushers (Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb) are both still available. The Browns are third in the league with 156.8 rushing yards per game.
The most recent victory Cleveland scored was against the Philadelphia Eagles, but it was by no means a blowout. With a final score of 22-17, the win wasn’t guaranteed until the final seconds ran out. The Browns totaled 324 yards, with 187 passing and 137 rushing. They had 17 first downs, a 4-14 third-down efficiency, and a 0-2 fourth-down efficiency. Baker Mayfield completed 12 of 22 pass attempts and was sacked three times. Nick Chubb led the team with 114 rushing yards and 20 carries, while KhaDarel Hodge led with 73 receiving yards from three receptions. Olivier Vernon had three sacks during the game. He has the 25th most in the league.
Jaguars Continue To Slide
The Browns might be riddled with injuries and illness, but the Jaguars find themselves in even worse shape. Not only are they missing several key players due to illness and injury, but they also find themselves on a nine-game losing streak on top of having one of their worst seasons since 2014. The Jaguars' most recent blow was DJ Chark, the team’s leading receiver in yards, catches, and touchdown catches, not practicing on Wednesday due to a ribs injury and is not expected to play. The Jaguars’ have announced that they’ll be starting their third different quarterback this season in Mike Glennon. Glennon hasn’t started a game in three years and hasn’t played at all this season. In 2019, he completed six of ten passes for 56 yards and one touchdown.
The Jaguars’ most recent in their long string of losses was to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. Jacksonville would only score once, a field goal early in the first quarter, for a final score of 27-3. They had 206 total yards, 133 passing, and 73 rushing. Across their 23:31 of possession, the Jaguars had 14 first downs, a third-down efficiency of 4-13, and a fourth-down efficiency of 0-1. Rookie Jake Luton completed 16 of 37 pass attempts and threw four interceptions. The only player on the team to rush was James Robinson, who had 17 carries. The now injured Chark led the team with 41 receiving yards across four receptions.
Notable Trends
- The Jaguars are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. AFC.
- The Jaguars are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
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