JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars still lead the NFL in rushing, but they won't much longer if the run game doesn't improve significantly from its output of the past month.
The Jaguars are averaging more than 40 yards fewer per game than they did before their Week 8 bye. Leonard Fournette is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry and hasn't run for a touchdown in the past four games. The Jaguars have managed to go 3-1 despite that marked dip in production thanks to the NFL's top defense, but that doesn't mitigate the fact that there's something seriously wrong with what had been the team's offensive strength.
"It's something we have to change," coach Doug Marrone said. "We want to be able to run the football and put ourselves in manageable situations.
"I've got to do a better job, and the coaches, of putting those guys in good position schematically and being able to take advantage of some of these heavy fronts that we see."
The Jaguars had it rolling in the run game in the season's first seven weeks. They led the NFL in yards per game (169.0), yards per carry (5.0), and rushing yards per carry before first contact (3.2). The last stat is an indication of how well the offensive line had been playing; there was plenty of space for the backs and they were into the second level of the defense before getting contacted.
Since the bye week, however, the numbers have dipped significantly. The Jaguars are averaging 128.5 yards per game, and Fournette's average since the bye is 1.7 yards per carry lower than it was before the off week. Fournette hasn't rushed for a touchdown since Week 6, when he scored from 75 yards out on his first carry in the Jaguars' eventual loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Injuries are likely the main reason for the drop-off.
Fournette sprained his right ankle late in the game against the Rams and sat out two games with the injury. After running for 111 yards against Cleveland on Nov. 19, Fournette said he's going to have to deal with the injury for the rest of the season because the only thing that will allow it to heal completely is rest.
Fournette had the worst performance of his career last Sunday against Arizona: 25 yards on 12 carries. That was worse than his day against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 12 (33 yards on 17 carries). He has run for just 169 yards since the bye (he missed one game because he was deactivated as punishment for violating a team rule).
Fournette doesn't seem to have the same burst and top-end speed that he did before the bye, when he ran for 596 yards, because of the injury.
The loss of right tackle Jermey Parnell and left guard Patrick Omameh have been a huge factor in the run game because Parnell had been the Jaguars' best run-blocker all season. Parnell hurt his left knee against Cincinnati on Nov. 5 when the Jaguars were at the Bengals' goal line trying to run out the clock. He hasn’t played since, and his replacement (Josh Wells) has struggled as a run-blocker because he's not as powerful as the 6-foot-6, 326-pound Parnell.
Omameh injured a quad against the Chargers and left the game in the second half. He has missed the past two games. Backup Chris Reed has started both games. While he has held his own, he isn't as good a run-blocker as Omameh.
Parnell and Omameh being out doesn't just impact Fournette. Chris Ivory, T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant have combined to rush for just 36 yards on 19 carries (1.9 per carry) in the past three games.
Marrone said he expects Parnell and Omameh back on the practice field on Wednesday as the Jaguars begin preparations for Sunday's home game against Indianapolis. The Jaguars definitely need them back for the final stretch of the season because three of their remaining five opponents are ranked in the top 10 in rush defense (Tennessee is fifth, Houston seventh, Seattle ninth).