Can the Jaguars stop the Chargers offence?

In the only game in the 10:05pm slot of NFL Week 3, the Los Angeles Chargers host the Jacksonville Jaguars and go into the game as clear favourites according to the odds. At the bookmakers, we find a guest handicap of at least seven points across the board. This is surprising in that the home side are coming off a loss to the Chiefs and the Jaguars are coming off a convincing win over the Colts.

The Chargers played the Thursday Night Game against the Chiefs in week two, giving them a little longer to digest their bitter loss to their division rivals. The evenly matched Chargers held on for a long time in Kansas City and in the end it was a mistake from the otherwise good quarterback Herbert that sealed the loss.

Jacksonville went into last week’s game as clear underdogs and then they dispatched the Indianapolis Colts 24-0. That’s also why we don’t see Jacksonville completely without a chance in Los Angeles. The newly formed defence is playing at a very high level and the offence around 2nd-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks much improved as well.

Los Angeles Chargers – Statistics & current form

The fourth quarter is underway between the Chiefs and Chargers in Kansas City, Missouri. The score is 17-17 with the visitors at the three-yard line in front of the opponent’s end zone. Quarterback Justin Herbert throws the ball towards tight end Everett, but rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson on the Chiefs’ side anticipates this pass, catches the ball and runs 99 yards for the pick-six touchdown. That was the turning point in the “Thursday Night Game”, which the visitors finally lost 24:27.

Can Herbert play?

The loss to a division rival hurts twice, of course, but there are 15 games left to play for each team in the regular season and against the Chiefs in week eleven the Chargers can set the record straight.

The most positive thing about the loss was that the offense performed very well even without the injured Keenan Allen. Herbert, despite the game-changing mistake, made a good play, getting lucky several times that another one of his passes wasn’t intercepted. In all, he threw the ball for 334 yards, three touchdowns and completed 33 of his 48 passes. He suffered a rib fracture during the match, so there is at least a question mark over whether he will play.

Head coach Brandon Staley, however, said he should be able to return to practice later this week. Between the Chargers and Jaguars, the betting odds clearly suggest that the bookmakers also expect the playmaker to play. His absence would extremely change the starting position.

The Chargers’ defence had good scenes against the Chiefs, as it did against the Raiders. With superstars Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, the defence is capable of putting every quarterback under pressure at some point. That could become a deciding factor against the Jaguars.

Key Players:
QB: Justin Herbert
RB: Austin Ekeler
WR: Keenan Allen
TE: Gerald Everett
K: Dustin Hopkins

Jacksonville Jaguars – stats & current form

Now it seems the Jaguars are finally taking the development that was expected of them. After the close loss in week one against the Washington Commanders, Jacksonville now got their first win of the season under new head coach Doug Pederson. When looking at the result, it was mainly the defence that excelled. Against the extremely strong Colts, who had 177 rushing yards in week one, they only allowed 54 yards. They also brought down the opposing quarterback five times and created three turnovers.

On a very good path

But let’s not forget the offense, where quarterback Trevor Lawrence turned in a nearly flawless performance. He had only five passes in the entire game that didn’t reach his teammates, and twice he found newcomer Christian Kirk in the end zone for a touchdown. In the backfield, running back Robinson did most of the work as 2021 draft pick Travis Etienne is used more as a pass catcher.

The Jaguars look mature. The new additions offensively and defensively are working and the experienced head coach, who won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, is doing the rest. He trusts his quarterback and his team. Jacksonville seems ready for bigger tasks. Still, it would be bold to tip the Jaguars for a win in the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.

Despite the outstanding performance by the defence, expectations shouldn’t be set too high, as Los Angeles not only has a better quarterback waiting in the wings, but also a wider pass receiving group. In week one, Jacksonville allowed over 300 passing yards and four passing touchdowns against Washington. Between the Chargers and Jaguars, the forecast is for a similar scenario.

Key Players:
QB: Trevor Lawrence
RB: James Robinson
WR: Christian Kirk
TE: Evan Engram
K: Riley Patterson

Los Angeles Chargers – Jacksonville Jaguars Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

There have been a full 14 meetings between the two franchises, with the first meeting still featuring the Los Angeles Chargers in San Diego. The record of the direct duels is clearly in favour of the home side of the upcoming match, as the team that has only been playing in the “City of Angels” since 2017 has won nine times. Since the relocation, the Chargers won two of the three games. A Jaguars win brings odds of 3.50 and it would be their first win since 2017 against Los Angeles.

This has been significantly outscored in each of the last two meetings, by 58 and 55 points. Of course, the teams changed a lot in each case, but still, expect plenty of points to be marvelled at again at So-Fi Stadium.

Los Angeles Chargers – Jacksonville Jaguars Tip

The impression remains that the Jaguars are too clearly listed as underdogs in Los Angeles. However, the passing defence also raises some questions. The strong Chargers quarterback Herbert is one of the top 5 playmakers in the NFL and has the ability to attack such a defence exactly where he needs to. That’s why in the Chargers vs. Jaguars duel, our prediction is that the home side will score more than 27 points.

Assuming that the Jaguars will also score points, this makes the betting odds that plenty of points will end up on the scoreboard attractive.

The Chargers are, despite the good development of the Jaguars, the clearly more mature team. That’s why a win for the Los Angeles Chargers vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars is worth a tip in any case.