Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
No player may be happier to see the regular season come to an end than Jacksonville Jaguars starting left tackle Luke Joeckel.
A third-year player, Joeckel played arguably the worst game of his career in Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans. The former first-round pick gave up four sacks and committed a costly holding penalty. He was not alone in his struggles, as the Jaguars offensive line combined to give up eight sacks in the game.
Led by defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, the Texans defense wasted no time applying pressure to Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles. Watt recorded the Texans’ first sack of the game, beating backup right tackle Sam Young on the third play from scrimmage.
Unlike Young, who actually held his own for the most part, Joeckel was victimized twice by Watt. The first came late in the third quarter on a third-and-four. The second came early in the fourth quarter. With the Jaguars trailing 20-6, Watt beat Joeckel again for a sack/forced fumble that was recovered by the Texans. The costly turnover all but ended the Jaguars’ chances for a comeback.
Joeckel’s nightmare day capped what had been a solid season by the 24-year-old lineman and the Jaguars’ offensive line as a whole. After allowing a league-high 71 sacks last season, the Jaguars had allowed just 43 sacks heading into Sunday’s regular season finale.
There is no denying the Jaguars’ offensive line is improved from a year ago, but if the team is going to take the next step in 2016, performances like the one Sunday against the Texans must become a thing of the past.
K.J. Momberg is the Jacksonville Jaguars Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @kjmomberg or add him to your network on Google.
