Jaguars One Step Closer to No. 1 Draft Pick with Record-Breaking 14th Consecutive Loss

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – With today’s 41-17 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost their fourteenth game in a row, setting a new franchise record. Today’s loss brings the Jags one step closer to the number one pick in the NFL Draft. Assuming the team finishes this season with a worse record than the New York Jets, most fans expect the Jaguars to draft Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. 

FIRST HALF

In today’s game at TIAA Bank Field, Jaguars QB Mike Glennon made his fourth start of the season, facing off against his former team. Jacksonville’s first drive ended with an Aldrick Rosas field goal and the Jaguars’ only lead of the game. The Bears followed with a touchdown, putting them up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears added to their lead with a field goal early in the second quarter. But Mike Glennon’s 20 yard touchdown pass to D.J. Chark Jr. tied the game up 10-10. The Jaguars’ LB Joe Schobert intercepted a Mitch Trubisky pass shortly before halftime, but the Bears quickly followed with an interception of their own, setting up a Cairo Santos field goal, to put Chicago ahead 13-10 at the half. 

SECOND HALF

The Bears capped off their first drive of the second half with a six-yard touchdown run by QB Mitch Trubisky. RB David Montgomery added another six-yard run for a touchdown, extending Chicago’s lead to 27-10. Another interception of a Mike Glennon pass led to a Bears scoring drive which ended with a 22-yard Trubisky to TE Jimmy Graham touchdown pass. Chicago led 34-10 at the end of the third quarter. 

RB Artavis Pierce’s three-yard touchdown run added to the Bears lead. QB Mike Glennon’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Laviska Shenault Jr. brought some joy to Jaguars fans, shrinking the Bears lead to 41-17.

RB Dare Ogunbowale did a commendable job filling in for James Robinson, who was unable to play due to an injury sustained in last week’s game against the Ravens. Ogunbowale finished with 71 rushing yards and seven receiving yards. Robinson has had an impressive rookie season, just 35 yards short of the rushing record for undrafted rookies, and should remain an integral part of the team as the Jaguars rebuild for the future. 

WR D.J. Chark Jr. finished with 62 receiving yards and a touchdown, but left the game early with a leg injury. WR Chris Conley had 27 receiving yards, while WR Keelan Cole Sr. added 26 receiving yards. Mike Glennon finished with 211 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Looking forward to next week, with just seven rushing yards, Laviska Shenault Jr. could become the fourth rookie wide receiver over the last ten years to total at least 500 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards in a season, joining Tyreek Hill (‘16), D.J. Moore (‘18), and Deebo Samuel (‘19). Shenault finished with 48 receiving yards and a touchdown. 

Perhaps Jaguars fans can take solace in knowing that Florida’s other two teams have managed spectacular improvements in just one season, as the Miami Dolphins drafted their way into playoff contention by picking QB Tua Tagovailoa with their number five pick, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers built a playoff team around high profile free agents. With a guaranteed top two pick in the NFL Draft, the Jaguars hope to land a superstar to lead them to the 2021 postseason. 

The Jaguars close out their season against the Colts Sunday, January 3, 2021. While a loss guarantees Jacksonville the number one pick in the draft, it’s worth noting that the Jaguars’ only victory this season came against Indianapolis in week 1. Today’s attendance was 17,445, while next week’s attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium will be capped at 10,000.