The Jacksonville Jaguars might be undefeated this season if they had defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
uncertain
they → have → Hutchinson
The Jaguars chose Travon Walker with the first overall pick in the 2022 draft, leaving Hutchinson to land in Detroit.
asserted
Jaguars → choose → Detroit
It was widely criticized at the time — former Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke made the head-scratching call — and it doesn’t look any better four years later.
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it → criticize → call
Hutchinson is considered one of the best pass rushers in the league, a guy with 47 sacks in 61 games.
asserted
Hutchinson → consider → games
Walker, meanwhile, has become a run-stuffing end but hasn’t shown nearly the same penchant for getting to — let alone taking down — opposing quarterbacks; he has 29 1/2 sacks over 69 games.
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he → become → games
It could be a decision that haunts the franchise for years.
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that → haunt → years
It certainly stands out during the team’s bye week, which comes after the Jaguars (4-2) failed to get a sack for the second time in six games.
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Jaguars → stand → games
Jacksonville is 0-2 this season when it doesn’t notch one, including a 34-31 loss to Houston at Wembley Stadium in London.
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it → notch → London
C.J. Stroud completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception, in the win.
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Stroud → complete → win
He was hurried twice, and coach Liam Coen said the slippery sod at Wembley caused footing issues for both defenses.
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sod → hurry → defenses
“We just have to go simplify things, let our guys get their cleats in the ground and go play,” Coen said.
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Coen → have → ground
“And I know we’ll continue to look at the ways of being able to do that moving forward.”
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we → know → that
Josh Hines-Allen and Walker, Jacksonville’s pass-rushing duo that’s getting paid close to $50 million in 2026, had 1 1/2 sacks apiece in the season opener against Cleveland and looked as if they could be in line for monster seasons.
uncertain
they → rush → seasons
But they have combined for half a sack in the five games since.
asserted
they → combine → games
It’s a baffling stretch that has defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile defending them on almost a weekly basis.
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Campanile → ’ → basis
“I think Josh affects the game considerably,” Campanile said.
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Campanile → think → game
“Josh plays a lot of outside linebacker roles for us, too, because there’s a lot of elements of 3-4 in our defense.
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Josh → play → defense
“He’s not just a put-his-hand-in-the-ground-and-rush guy.
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He → ’ → ground
He does a ton of jobs for us.
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He → do → us
If you watch the games, there’s plenty of games or plays in the game where he may be dropping out and rerouting the hell out of a route concept and the ball doesn’t go there.
uncertain
ball → watch → concept
Jacksonville has 11 sacks this season, which is tied for 20th in the league entering Week 7.
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which → have → Week
It’s one of the few glaring holes for a defense that leads the NFL in stopping the run (72.2 yards a game), has an AFC-leading seven interceptions and ranks third in the league in points allowed (17.3 a game).
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that → ’ → points
“Obviously, the goal for everybody and for all of our guys in the rush is to get the quarterback on the ground,” Campanile said.
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Campanile → get → ground
“So, anything in that regard, I think there’s some stuff that I can do better in terms of generating those numbers.”
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I → think → numbers
Jacksonville had a chance to close out both of its losses with a defensive stop.
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Jacksonville → have → stop
The Jags led Denver 13-6 going into the fourth quarter in Week 2, but allowed consecutive touchdown drives and lost 20-13 on the road.
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Jags → lead → road
They rallied from a 10-point deficit last Sunday to tie the Texans overseas, but couldn’t get to Stroud on several key plays down the stretch and gave up a 49-yard field goal on the final play.
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They → rally → play
Those games weren’t solely on the pass rush, but the sack numbers stick out.
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numbers → stick → rush
Advanced metrics show Jacksonville in the top 10 in QB knockdowns, meaning they’re close to opposing QBs — but clearly not close enough.
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they → show → QBs
“In regards to the pass rush, our pressure rate’s actually not so bad in terms of what that looks like,” Coen said.
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Coen → ’ → what
The Jags rank 15th in pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference, getting heat on QBs 23.6% of the time on drop-backs.
uncertain
Jags → rank → backs
Although Hutchinson surely would have helped, the answer might be to bring more than four on passing plays, which the Jags have done just 24.5% of the time.
uncertain
Jags → help → time
“When we do blitz, we got to get home,” Coen said.
asserted
Coen → got → ?
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