Falcons 28, Jaguars 12: Tim Jones Shines As Jaguars End Preseason Winless

Jacksonville fell 28-12 to the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday afternoon, ending their preseason with a winless 0-4 record and putting the entire focus squarely on the Washington Commanders in Week 1. 

Despite the loss, though, the Jaguars saw several young players battle for spots on the 53-man roster and use the pressure to shine. 

The Jaguars couldn't have had the game start any better, with third-year safety Daniel Thomas intercepting Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder on the first snap from scrimmage, bringing the ball to Atlanta's 35-yard line. 

Jacksonville's offense lost a yard over the next three plays, with a negative Snoop Conner catch, a small gain by Conner on the ground and an incompletion from E.J. Perry to Laquon Treadwell. Luckily for the Jaguars, they did get good news when they saw new kicker James McCourt nail a 54-yard attempt in his first kick as a Jaguar.

Ridder picked up several third down conversions for the Falcons on the ensuing drive, with the Falcons driving 75 yards in 15 plays before Ridder threw a two-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Tyler Allgeier.

Tim Jones and Perry led the Jaguars on several big drives to find points or opportunities to score in the rest of the first half. The Jaguars drove it to the Falcons' 18-yard line after Perry and Jones connected for a 49-yard play downfield, one of two 40+ yard receptions for Jones in the first half.

Jones finished the game with three catches for 103 yards (34.3 yards per catch) on three targets, with the second-year receiver making the most of his opportunities among the other receivers fighting for a spot in the Jaguars' offense.

Also battling for spots were Laviska Shenault (two catches for 19 yards on two targets) who caught a touchdown from Perry on a scramble drill before a Darryl Williams holding negated it, Jeff Cotton Jr. (zero catches for zero yards on four targets), and Laquon Treadwell (two catches for 14 yards on six targets), who caught a touchdown in an impressive nine-play, 85-yard drive from Perry and the Jaguars to end the first half.

Despite Jones' big grab, the Jaguars saw the kicker battle become a bit clearer at the expense of the scoreboard. Kicker Jake Verity missed a 46-yard attempt to end the drive before McCourt made a 38-yard field goal. 

It wasn't all good for the Jaguars' special teams, though. A missed block by veteran running back Ryquell Armstead, who is fighting for the No. 4 running back role, led to a Logan Cooke punt in Jaguars' territory being blocked. This would precede a one-yard Falcons touchdown run, one of three touchdown rushes allowed by the Jaguars on Saturday. 

Defensively, the Jaguars saw rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd make his preseason debut after a hamstring injury kept him sidelined for much of training camp. Lloyd played most of the first-half and recorded five tackles (three solo, two assists), while Rudy Ford and Da'Shaan Dixon recorded sacks.

The Jaguars mostly played backups on Saturday, sitting 27 players and not playing several others who dressed. This gave the Jaguars a chance to take a look at their depth one final time before Week 1.

“It meant a lot for me when I played because I was the guy playing. That’s my message to the guys that are going to play, honestly, the guys that get opportunities," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said. 

"I don’t want to say it’s the end of the road because there are 31 teams looking at these rosters, and it can be put your best foot forward. It may not be with the Jaguars, it may be somewhere else. That’s the encouraging part for me, the motivating factor I guess, is just allowing them to go out and play and relax and have fun and do their job, and they’re trying to make our team, but other teams are looking as well.”

Final 53-man roster cuts will be made Tuesday at 4 p.m., with the Jaguars and the NFL's other 31 clubs then having a day to examine the waived players and determine which could fit into their plans following training camp.

“It’s hard. It’s the hardest part of our business. Trying to get down from 80 to 53, it’s a lot of guys," Pederson said this week. 

"You’re affecting a lot of lives. I was one of those guys, six different times released in this league, but again, it’s not that their hopes and dreams are over, it’s just maybe they have to go somewhere else. Then you’ve got practice squad. With the increased practice squad rosters now and the ability to keep some veteran players there really helps keep more athletes, more football players.”

The Jaguars finished the preseason 0-4, the first time they have done so since they lost all four preseason games in 2019. They went on to finish 6-10 in 2019, with Doug Marrone getting one more season in 2020. There was no preseason in 2020, while the 3-14 2021 Jaguars went 1-3 in the preseason.

Stats of the game

Here are the most interesting stats of the game, via Jaguar Report's lead statistician Ryan Michael.

• E.J. Perry finished 19 of 37 (51.4%) for 201 yards (5.4YPA), 1 TD, 2 INTs, 2 sacks and a 54.0 PR.

• WR Tim Jones caught all 3 of his targets for 103 yards. He averaged 34.3 yards/reception.

• WR Laquon Treadwell was targeted 6x. He only caught 2 passes for 14 yards (2.3 yards/target).

• The Jaguars defense picked off Desmond Riddler twice, once by Xavier Crawford and once by Daniel Thomas.

• The Jaguars offense has averaged 12.8 PPG through 4 preseason games (11 vs. Raiders, 13 vs. Browns, 15 vs. Steelers and 12 @ Falcons).

• The Jaguars had possession of the football for 24:35 (Falcons 35:25).

• The Jaguars offense failed to convert on 10 of 12 third down attempts.