Allen says Jags ready to ‘shock the world’
JACKSONVILLE — The Jaguars were projected to be a rebuilding team with few wins and plenty of growing pains as one of the league’s youngest teams.
Yet the Jaguars are still riding the momentum from last week’s opening 27-20 win against the Indianapolis Colts.
Defensive end Josh Allen says that’s just the start of more to come even though they are a 10-point underdog against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville.
“We’re a new team this year, and you know we’re just ready to shock the world and win a lot of games in this organization,” Allen said.
Most preseason predictions had the Jaguars finishing at the bottom of the league because they are one of the youngest teams in the league. They also traded veterans A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell, Nick Foles and Yannick Ngakoue in the offseason in exchange for draft picks.
“We’re not really focused on the outside noise,” Allen said. “We hear it all the time, since probably Jalen [Ramsey] left, that we weren’t going to be a good team. And everybody that left after that, it’s just been getting worse and worse.
“And now, they saw us play last week and now they’re surprised. So, yeah, I think it’s a big game for us. It’s a big game because it’s a divisional game. It’s a game we must have.”
However, the Jaguars’ young talent emerged against the Colts.
Rookie cornerback CJ Henderson had an interception and a game-clinching pass breakup, and undrafted rookie James Robinson rushed for a game-high 62 yards.
Second-round draft pick Laviska Shenault caught three passes for 37 yards, including a 15-yard TD catch.
“I don’t know if it’ll change a whole lot. They do a couple of things [differently] in their fronts and some of their blitz patterns,”
offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said about the Titans defense. “But for the most part, if we want to be a successful team here, it should start with the run.
“And James is going to be a big part of that because everything will open up off that. We’re able to complete some naked bootlegs, to do some play actions — which were very beneficial to us.”
The Titans advanced to the AFC championship game last season before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Going into Sunday’s Week 2 game, Tennessee has not lost at home to the Jaguars since 2013, winners of six in a row.
“This is really a whole different deal,” coach Doug Marrone said. “It’s a whole different team. It’s a whole different atmosphere.”
The Jaguars want to match the Titans’ physical play and contain running back Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher last season with 1,540 yards.
Sunday’s game will determine whether the Jaguars or Titans will
take over sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
Tennessee beat Denver 16-14 on the road Monday night in its opener.
“We’re going have to get ready for a physical, tough contest here on Sunday against a division opponent that knows a lot about us,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said about the Jaguars.
A concern for Vrabel is Jaguars’ linebackers, especially Myles Jack. He repeatedly appeared to be in a position to make plays against the Colts. Jack was the Jaguars’ second-leading tackler with 11 and registered their only sack.
“I thought you could argue [that] Myles was probably the best player on the field, and I think he played like that,” Marrone said. “I think that he’s been great.
“Even in the offseason talking to him, he was away for a while, he was in Australia when we were talking and just the amount of how he was training. I think Myles is in a good place.”