Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) is tripped up by New York Jets cornerback Qwan'tez Stiggers (37) during the first quarter Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Sunday's matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders will feature two of the worst teams in the National Football League. Both teams are vying for one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, if not the top pick.
However, as bad as the season has gone for the Jaguars, their season has not gone as poorly as the Raiders' season has gone. While the Jaguars have had a four-game losing streak and a five-game losing streak, neither are as bad as the Raiders' current 10-game losing streak.
Still, for as bad as the injury-riddled Raiders have been, their defense has played relatively well this season. This is especially the case when considering the injuries the Raiders' defense has sustained this season, and how many times their inept offense has put their defense in unfavorable situations.
Jaguars' offensive coordinator Press Taylor is not fooled by the Raiders' 2-12 record. He knows the Raiders have a respectable defense.
"They do a lot," Taylor said. "They present a lot to you. I think the beauty of them is they can basically play all their schemes from any different personnel grouping. So, they're going to have something very specific to you. I think that's a little bit of the New England in Coach Graham's [Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham] background that you're going to come out in the first quarter, you're going to try to figure out how they're playing your 12 personnel, how they're playing your passing strength, how they're adjusting certain things, how they're building their fronts, because it's probably going to be something that we've maybe seen once this year or haven't necessarily seen on tape from them.
"But it gets pretty specific to you, how they view your scheme, your personnel. So, that's always the challenge, the chess match of trying to settle in to figure out what they're doing to you and how you're going to play. Then, they play really hard. There's a lot of pressure, probably more pressure on normal-down situations than we're used to seeing throughout the course of the year. So, that's always something you've got to get 11 guys seeing the same way and on the same page to have success."
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE