JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Leonard Fournette era got off to a pretty good start on Thursday night, even if it didn’t come against the New England Patriots' best players.
Fournette ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in the Jacksonville Jaguars' 31-24 victory at Gillette Stadium. Fournette was on the field for two drives and displayed the power everyone expected, but he also showed off a spin move that helped him gain additional yards inside the 5-yard line.
The Jaguars gave Fournette the ball four consecutive times on his first drive (plus another carry) and he converted a fourth-and-inches with an 8-yard run. He also touched it four consecutive times on his second drive, using the spin move to take the ball to the 4-yard line. Two plays later he scored on a 1-yard run.
"I thought he looked good," head coach Doug Marrone said at halftime. "I think he has to run a little bit with his pads lower at times. Obviously, you can see the power that he has."
QB depth chart: Solid, albeit short, night for Blake Bortles, who completed 3 of 5 passes for 16 yards. Not impressive stats, but WR Rashad Greene had a drop and the other incompletion was a throwaway in the back of the end zone. Bortles has struggled with his accuracy on crossing patterns, but his throw to Greene was perfect. Bortles didn't force any throws and took a couple of dump-downs after going through his reads. Chad Henne (5-for-6, 139 yards) and Brandon Allen (5-of-7, 85 yards) each threw touchdown passes.
When it was starters vs. starters, the Jaguars looked ...: This is really hard to answer because the Patriots didn't play a single starter. So the Jaguars looked OK against the Patriots' first group of backups, which is a bit concerning. The first drive lasted just four plays thanks to Greene's drop and the offense failed to get the ball into the end zone after having a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line on its second possession. The defense got good pressure on QB Jimmy Garoppolo but struggled against the run. MLB Myles Jack took a couple of bad angles and there were several missed tackles. There are going to be mistakes, but missed tackles are a sign of sloppiness.
One reason to be concerned: It was only his first game at the position and it's the first preseason game, but Jack wasn't very impressive at middle linebacker. In addition to taking bad angles, he also got caught up in some blocks and missed a tackle. He's still having issues with recognition of adjustments and communicating changes, but that's to be expected. However, the physical part of the game -- pursuit, tackling -- should be his strength. Again, it's early, he's trying to think and play at the same time and has to get to the point where he's just reacting (the football cliché of playing fast). There's plenty of time left, but at least a seed of concern has been planted.
That guy could start: RT Jermey Parnell did not play because of an injury and the Jaguars didn’t appear to miss him at all. Josh Wells, who had been rotating with Cam Robinson at left tackle, filled in and did a solid job in pass protection. Bortles didn't have anyone in his face on his five dropbacks. Wells also had a key block on Fournette's 1-yard touchdown. Parnell struggled last season because of a lingering groin injury and has been up-and-down in camp. If Parnell's undisclosed injury lingers, Wells, who has appeared in only 17 games in three seasons because of various injuries, would be the best option to take over as the starter.
Rookie watch: Outside of Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee, the receiver who's had the best camp has been undrafted rookie Keelan Cole. He consistently makes plays in practice and caught a 97-yard touchdown pass from Henne on Thursday. Cole got a step on CB Cyrus Jones early, caught the ball at his own 40-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone. Robinson, Lee, Allen Hurns, Arrelious Benn and rookie fourth-round pick Dede Westbrook (who had a nice 42-yard TD catch down the sideline) are locks to make the 53-man roster, so the rest of the receivers are fighting for one spot (provided the Jaguars keep six) and right now Cole could have the edge over Greene.
Ngakoue picks up where he left off: DE Yannick Ngakoue's eight sacks last season were a franchise rookie record and he looks like he's still the Jaguars' best edge rusher. He sacked Garoppolo for a 7-yard loss on the Patriots' first drive (he leaped over LaAdrian Waddle's cut block attempt) and hammered Garoppolo just after he released a pass on the Patriots' second drive. Ngakoue is the Jaguars' best chance to have a player record double-digit sacks for the first time since 2007 (Bobby McCray had 10). Dante Fowler Jr. was impressive early in camp, but that was the case last year, too, until Tampa Bay came to town for joint practices.
Myers misses: K Jason Myers has had some rough days in camp and didn't have a great performance against the Patriots. After making a 27-yard field goal, Myers pushed kicks left from 50 and 53 yards. The Jaguars did not bring in any camp competition for Myers, but after his rough start and misses against the Patriots that might be something they do this week. Myers had a rough year in 2015, missing nearly twice as many PATs (seven) as he did field goal attempts (four). That flipped last season: He missed three PATs and seven field goal attempts.