The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to New England on Sunday in what's sure to be a tough matchup against the 2-0 Patriots. Coming off a dramatic victory over the Miami Dolphins, Blake Bortles and the Jaguars will look to continue their success against the dominant Patriots.
The Patriots' defense is sure to be a tougher test as they sacked Tyrod Taylor eight times last week. If the Jaguars hope to win, they'll need to keep pace with Tom Brady and the high-powered offense.
Here are three keys to the game for both the Jaguars and Patriots.
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JAGUARS:
1. Keep up the good work up front
The Jaguars managed to hold the Dolphins without a sack last week, despite playing without starting left tackle Luke Joeckel. This week, they’ll need to match that effort against a New England defense that leads the league in sacks.
2. Feed Allen Robinson
The second-year receiver is coming off a huge game against the Dolphins in which he caught six passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson is Jacksonville’s top offensive weapon at this point and if the Jaguars hope to hang with New England, they’ll need to put plenty of points on the scoreboard. Robinson can help.
3. Secondary must step up
Last week, Jacksonville’s banged-up secondary allowed Ryan Tannehill to throw for 359 yards. That’s problematic considering Tom Brady enters Week 3 coming off a game in which he threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns. The potential for another big day certainly exists, so it will be up to the Jaguars to limit Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman as best they can.
PATRIOTS:
1. Continue to pressure the quarterback
Last week, the Patriots recorded eight sacks and put constant pressure on Taylor and the Bills' offense. Bortles has shown similarities to Ben Roethlisberger as he isn't the easiest quarterback to get on the ground, so Chandler Jones and company will need to consistently rush the passer.
2. Attack the Jaguars' secondary
The Jaguars don't have the secondary that Buffalo does, so throwing the ball shouldn't be too difficult. There's no reason Brady can't continue to have success through the air against Jacksonville, so throwing the ball early and often will set the tone for the game.
3. Give LeGarrette Blount more opportunities
Dion Lewis has taken over as the lead back in New England, but Blount is still in the equation. While Lewis has played well, he hasn't had a heavy workload with regards to carry and hasn't proven that he can handle 20-plus carries a game. The Patriots would be smart to give Blount more carries than last week when he ran the ball two times.
