JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When this season ends later this month and Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley begin the lengthy review process, they're going to have to spend significant time on special teams.
The Jaguars are clearly not getting the job done with those units, as Sunday's 20-12 loss to Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium clearly showed.
Jacksonville gave up a blocked punt for a touchdown, Josh Scobee missed a 42-yard field goal and punt returner Ace Sanders continues to give the Jaguars nothing. It's the second time this season poor special-teams play has cost the Jaguars a chance to win and it's clear that changes are needed.
The Jaguars did make personnel changes after rookies Craig Loston and Telvin Smith missed blocks on a pair of blocked punts against the Cincinnati Bengals by inserting veterans Clay Harbor and Toby Gerhart, but it was another veteran who made the biggest mistake against the Ravens.
Fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou got confused in punt protection and allowed Darian Stewart to get by him untouched for a free run at punter Bryan Anger. Kamar Aiken recovered the block and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Baltimore lead before quarterback Joe Flacco had even seen the field.
It's one thing to get beat physically -- that happens in football -- but to make a mental error and not even get a finger on a rusher in a basic protection package is inexcusable. Stewart had a clear path to Anger, and as we saw last Sunday night in the New England-San Diego game, that can result in a punter getting severely injured.
Scobee's missed 42-yard field goal try, which would have put the Jaguars ahead 12-7 in the second quarter, came after he made kicks of 53, 45 and 53 yards. He should have made the kick and he'll freely admit that, but he's the least of the issues on special teams. He has proved to be one of the league's most reliable kickers and the Jaguars don't need to make a change at his spot in 2015.
It's abundantly clear that the Jaguars do need to make a change at punt returner. Sanders was selected in the fourth round to be a dynamic returner and he has never had a return longer than 23 yards in 52 attempts. He had two returns for 14 yards. His longest was 13 yards and it could have been longer had he not slipped.
Anyone watching Sunday's game would agree that the Jaguars outplayed the Ravens. The defense shut down the running game -- Justin Forsett, the AFC's second-leading rusher, gained just 48 yards -- and allowed the Ravens' offense to score just one touchdown. The offense failed to find the end zone, but there were critical drops by veterans Cecil Shorts and Marcedes Lewis, and the unit gave up eight sacks. The offense did move the ball enough to be in position for Scobee's five field goal attempts.
Even when the Jaguars did make good plays on special teams -- they recovered a surprise onside kick and Ta'ufo'ou gained 19 yards on a fake punt -- they couldn't capitalize. The blocked punt negated that anyway.
This wasn't as bad as the breakdowns against Cincinnati, when the special-teams units ended up, either directly or indirectly, contributing to 19 points in the Bengals' 33-23 victory via two blocked punts (one a partial block), a long return and a kickoff out of bounds.
They were bad enough to cost the Jaguars the game and convince Caldwell and Bradley that they need an overhaul, too.
