JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A few thoughts on the Jacksonville Jaguars' 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Field.
What it means: The Jaguars snapped a nine-game losing streak that dated back to last season and got just their third victory at EverBank Field since the start of the 2012 season. They did it by forcing and capitalizing on turnovers and not relying on quarterback Blake Bortles to carry the offense. The Jaguars are finally starting to look the way many thought they would when the season began: A defense that keeps the team in the game and allows a struggling offense to get chances with a short field.
Defense comes through: The answer to whether the Jaguars' defense has improved over the last several weeks or was just benefiting from playing struggling offenses still can't be answered completely, but it looks more like the former than the latter. The defense completely shut down the Browns' running game, which was the core of the offense, holding them to just 69 yards. Ben Tate had 36 yards and Isaiah Crowell had 18 yards and the Browns averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. Without a running game the Browns were forced to rely on quarterback Brian Hoyer, and the Jaguars were all over him, too. They sacked him twice, forced him to fumble, and intercepted him once, turning both of those turnovers into points. Rookie linebacker Telvin Smith forced both of those turnovers, knocking the ball out of Hoyer's hands on a sack and intercepting a Hoyer pass late in the fourth quarter.
Run to daylight: Denard Robinson gave the running game a much-needed boost with his performance against the Browns. He ran for 127 yards and one touchdown, the first time the Jaguars have had a back surpass 100 yards since Jordan Todman ran for 109 against Buffalo on Dec. 15, 2013. The Jaguars ran for a season-high 185 yards. The Jaguars had been averaging 69.5 yards per game rushing but eclipsed that mark in the first quarter (76 yards). Robinson had 62 yards alone in the first quarter. Granted, the success came against a Browns defensive line that is banged up. Armonty Bryant is out for the season with a torn ACL and Phil Taylor (knee), Billy Wynn (quad) and Ahtyba Rubin (ankle) were inactive. But the Jaguars' offensive line took advantage of those injuries to create more space for the backs than they had all season.
Game ball: It's tempting to go with Robinson, but the defense deserves the honor this week because the unit finally got off the turnover schneid. After forcing three in the first half of the season opener, the unit had forced just one over the next five games. They forced three on Sunday, recovering two fumbles and intercepting Hoyer once, and scored 17 points off the miscues.
What's next: The Jaguars play host to Miami next Sunday at 1 p.m. That's the last time the Jaguars will play a game at EverBank Field for more than a month (Nov. 30 versus the New York Giants).
