NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are not exactly entering the postseason on a roll.
Sunday’s 15-10 loss to Tennessee at Nissan Stadium was their second in a row, but that’s not the most concerning thing about the past two weeks. The Jaguars aren’t forcing turnovers while committing a bunch themselves, and their young receivers have all of a sudden started playing like inexperienced players in big moments.
That means the Jaguars (10-6) have little momentum as they head into the postseason for the first time since 2007, when they will play Buffalo at 1 p.m. ET Sunday at EverBank Field.
Turnover margin is the most important statistic when it comes to having success, and right now the Jaguars are reeling. In the first 14 games of the season, the Jaguars were plus-15, which was the second-best mark in the NFL behind Baltimore (plus-17). In the past two weeks, they’re minus-5, which includes four on Sunday against the Titans.
They did get a fumble return for a touchdown by Yannick Ngakoue on Sunday, but they had two fumbles and two interceptions.
"It’s a must," safety Barry Church said. "We've got to get those takeaways. In order for us to get wins and put our offense in better position, we’ve got to be able to take the ball way. We got the one, but we need to force more."
Just as concerning heading into the playoffs is the play of the young receivers. The Jaguars have relied on Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole and Jaydon Mickens for most of the season and they have, for the most part, delivered. That hasn’t been the case the past two weeks, and it was especially troublesome against the Titans.
Cole’s fumble led to a Titans field goal. Mickens muffed a punt and was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the same play, which led to another field goal. Mickens also muffed another punt inside his own 5-yard line. That led to a Titans field goal, too.
Westbrook had two drops, including one that would have been a 34-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
"It's good that I have next week to bounce back and I owe the next one to the team," said Westbrook, who had one catch for 9 yards on nine targets. "At the end of the day, I think we're fine. We’re going to be great. We needed this game, of course. Well, I can speak for myself. I needed this game. It’s just up to me make up for it next week when it matters."
Injuries to Allen Robinson (torn ACL), Allen Hurns (sprained ankle caused him to miss six games) and Marqise Lee (sprained ankle has had him out for the past two games) have forced the Jaguars to rely on those young receivers, and they were so effective in the first three games in December.
Quarterback Blake Bortles was the NFL’s top-rated passer in those three weeks and Cole, Westbrook and Mickens combined to catch 30 passes for 575 yards and six touchdowns in those three games.
Drops, wrong routes, turnovers and short-arming passes have plagued the three in the past two weeks, and you have to wonder if their confidence -- or their teammates’ confidence in them -- is somewhat shaken.
"I’m not sure," Hurns said. "I don’t worry about it because I know that those guys; they’re very strong-minded. It’s tough once things aren’t going your way as a young guy. We all had it. I had it my second game in my career when I dropped a ball in Washington. But the good thing about it is we’re not in the playoffs yet, so this game didn't count too, too much for us.
"It should be a learning curve for them. If anything, it’s good it happened now. You don’t want it to happen, but it’s good it happened now."
Those receivers have to play better and the Jaguars have to flip their turnover margin if they are going to be anything more than a one-and-done team in the playoffs.
“At the end of the day, we don’t win the turnover battle and we’re not able to make any plays, it’s very difficult to win," coach Doug Marrone said.