The Jacksonville Jaguars did it. They finally got their first win of the season and they did it in a comfortable and physical fashion. 

The defense played the role of the catalyst on Sunday, only allowing the Cleveland Browns to gain 266 yards on offense. The Browns, coming into the game were third in the NFL in rushing yards, were held to 69 total rushing yards. The Jaguars were plugging holes and getting penetration from their defensive line. It was just what Head Coach Gus Bradley ordered.

We reveled in it today,” Gus Bradley said, smiling and adding, “I told them, ‘Let’s revel for 24 hours. Let’s have fun with it.’ I am just so excited for our guys. We see it every day. People come in here and say, ‘I can’t believe their attitude and how positive they are and how they go about it,’ and then to see it come together... We said something good is about to happen and they believed it. It’s good.

In the final box score, the Cleveland Browns' leading rusher was Ben Tate having 16 carries for 36 yards.

In the Browns' passing game, Brian Hoyer was shut down by the impressive performance of the secondary. He was 16 for 41 for 215 yards and threw 1 interception that helped seal the game for the Jaguars. 

The entire defense stood out Sunday at EverBank Field. However, one rookie outshone them all. Linebacker Telvin Smith was a 5th round pick that scouts said he was undersized. In this game he led the Jaguars defense with a sack, forced fumble, and interception as well as adding 4 tackles to end the day.

It was definitely a great win. This is for the team. We worked together, we came together, and we did it.” The rookie Linebacker said. “I always like to say that I’m a big play guy. I like to change the game, so to be able to do that and show these guys that I could stand up on this level and play. Like you said, I’ve been doing that here and there, but today was definitely a breakout game.

The Jaguars offense also had a relatively good day, however it was blemished by rookie quarterback Blake Bortles throwing 3 interceptions. He also added 159 yards on a 17 for 31 performance with the 1 touchdown to rookie Wide Receiver Allen Robinson during the Two-Minute Warning to end the first half.

It’s awesome; obviously, when you get a win it’s unbelievable. I think it’s pretty cool how involved the fans were; it was a great feeling.” Bortles said.  “I’ve got to improve. I’ve got to keep getting better, but that’s part of it. Obviously, I’m not happy with the way I played, but I’m extremely happy with the outcome of the game.

However, the game ball would have to go out to Jaguars Running Back Denard Robinson. The running game was ranked last coming into the game averaging just about 69.1 yards. However, the Jaguars Running Back from Michigan ended the day with 127 yards on 22 carries with his first career NFL touchdown.

He’s always been very impressive to look running the ball,” Bortles said talking about Robinson. “He’s getting better. He hasn’t been doing it for very long. He’s getting better week-by-week and the offensive line is doing a really good job. I thought they played their tails off and they really did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.

The Jaguars ran the ball for a total of 185 yards, their best performance throughout the year.

The Jaguars are moving forward in their progression and looks to win again next week against the Miami Dolphins. The way their defense looks from the past three weeks, it may just be chance to get the Jaguars rolling throughout the rest of the 2014-2015 NFL Season.

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About the author
Jon-Michael Bagay
A writer preferenced for the Jacksonville Jaguars and other NFL News and opinions.