Jaguars' starting defensive front got overmatched by Buccaneers

The Jaguars’ starting defensive line is supposed to be a strength this season, but it sure didn’t look like it on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In the Jaguars’ disheartening 12-8 preseason loss at EverBank Field, they were unable to get near quarterback Jameis Winston on passing attempts or make enough run stops. There were plays like defensive end Yannick Ngakoue coming off the edge and getting in ideal position to make a possible play only to see wide receiver DeSean Jackson race by him on an end-around for a 15-yard gain.

There was the goal-line play on the Buccaneers’ opening drive and tackle Malik Jackson shot the gap but Buccaneers left guard Kevin Pamphile caught him from an angle and plowed him to the ground as running back Doug Martin scored on a 2-yard run around left end after beating linebacker Telvin Smith to the end zone.

Unlike the team’s secondary, which has been hampered by injuries that forced top three cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and Aaron Colvin out of action on Thursday night, all of the Jaguars’ defensive lineman were available, including veteran Calais Campbell.

Yet, Sheldon Day was the only lineman to make a tackle for a loss. Jackson, who predicted that the Jaguars will win the Super Bowl this season, made only one assisted tackle. Campbell, who played only a series, didn’t get a tackle. And defensive end Dante Fowler had a sack and forced a fumble, but still struggled to consistely get off blocks throughout the game.

“It definitely wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure,” Campbell said. “This game was for us to see where we’re at and the starters played a lot. It was a chance for us to go against a good team. As a bad as we played in the first half, we made a lot of mistakes. But I’m confident that we’re still on the right track. It’s not time to panic, but take a deep breath and keep playing football.”

This spring, the Jaguars made a concerted effort to upgrade their defense by spending more than $150 million to bring in Campbell, Bouye and safety Barry Church as free agents. Despite giving a strong effort during two days of joint practices against Tampa Bay in advance of Thursday’s game, the Jaguars got gashed for long gains.

“We didn’t get the pressure on the quarterback that we wanted,” Coach Doug Marrone said. “We didn’t get any piles knocked back. We gave up too many yards on the run.”

Tampa Bay essentially put the game out of reach in the first half when they outgained the Jaguars 240-59 and scored on three of their first four possessions. When Winston was flushed out of the pocket, he still made completions to open receivers. Winston completed 21 of 29 passes for 198 yards after playing only a half.

By any stretch it’s not likely to be a good film review session for the Jaguars, who allowed the Buccaneers to get 16 of the 23 first downs in the first half. The Jaguars lacked the same urgency they displayed in last week’s 31-24 preseason opening victory at New England.

”I think as players we have to take this third game (Carolina) a lot more serious because coach is going to treat it like a (regular season) game week,” Jackson said.

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