Usually week three of the NFL season isn’t a time we talk about “trap games,” but the Jacksonville Jaguars are just that bad, and the Seattle Seahawks are just that good. Still, we can’t ignore a few key factors that may favor the Jaguars against head coach Gus Bradley’s former team.
To start, no, the Jaguars probably won’t be able to beat the Seahawks in the loudest stadium on Earth, but there’s no doubting the possibility. To start, Gus Bradley has a deep understanding of how the Seahawks operate on the defensive side of the football, giving quarterback Chad Henne an opportunity to succeed for the first time this year.
In addition, the Seahawks are burdened by expectations, not their own mind you. The Jaguars are terrible, scoring a grand total of 11 points so far this year.
The Jaguars’ offense is the point where this game becomes a trap. The Seahawks have a still young team, and young teams don’t do a great job of keeping their eyes just one game in front of them. Chad Henne may not be a great quarterback, but he’s been around the league, and this game won’t be overly daunting, even in a crazy-loud stadium.
The Seahawks’ defense, by contrast, will be expecting their easiest game of the year, and they could very easily be correct in that assumption, but if the Jaguars can come out and punch them right in the mouth, the game could take on a strange complexion.
Consider this: the Jaguars’ offense marches up and down the field on the Seahawks throughout the first half. The Seahawks just can’t get a stop, and at halftime, they trail 24-10. This is the NFL, where no team is truly “awful.” It’s a real possibility that the Seahawks must be wary of.
No, the Jaguars probably won’t be able to knock off what many consider to be the best team in the NFL, but Gus Bradley’s impact for the Jaguars is tough to measure. If nothing else, we’ll get to see just how good the Seahawks are, how bad the Jags are and just how mature that young Seahawks squad really is.
