STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
JAGUARS AT VIKINGS – SUNDAY, DEC. 6
In Week 13, the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-10) travel to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Vikings (5-6) at U.S. Bank Stadium. Sunday’s game will be Jacksonville’s first regular season contest against the Vikings since 2016 and their first regular season game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The game will be broadcast regionally on CBS and locally on WJAX-47.
Below are some key stats and quotes to get you ready for game day.
COLLIN’S CATCHES: Rookie WR Collin Johnson had the best game of his young NFL career in Week 12 against Cleveland when he caught four passes for a career- and team-high 96 yards. Johnson’s performance was highlighted by a 46-yard TD in the first quarter, which marked the longest reception by any rookie in the NFL last week. Johnson’s 96 receiving yards were the most in a game by a Jaguars rookie since WR Keelan Cole Sr. recorded 108 receiving yards on Dec. 24, 2017.
The Jaguars rookie class has totaled 809 receiving yards this season, the third-most among all rookie classes in the NFL with WR Laviska Shenault Jr. (354 receiving yards), RB James Robinson (280) and Johnson (165) leading the way. Vikings rookie WR Justin Jefferson has caught 52 passes for 918 yards this season, marking the most receiving yards by any rookie in the NFL through the first 12 weeks of a season since 2004.
QUOTABLE: “He definitely has a straight-line speed that you like to see … As far as finding the hole, he has a natural feel. He’s a smart kid, has a good feel for the game of football … We love his skill set. I think as a young football player you can see what type of career he may have if he continues to work.” – Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden
JARROD’S JOURNEY: S Jarrod Wilson was selected as the Jaguars nominee for the Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award, the team announced Thursday. Wilson’s activism in the community alongside his fiancé, Desaray, leadership in the locker room and resiliency in recovering from injury earned him the nod.
In 2016, Wilson launched the Jarrod Wilson Foundation with a focus on giving back to communities through career and college readiness, scholarship programs, community service and athletics. Since then, Wilson hosted the first annual Jarrod Wilson Football Camp in his hometown of Akron, Ohio in 2019, when he welcomed more than 100 kids to learn about not only the fundamentals of the game but also leadership and the importance of education and family.
Since joining the team in 2016, Wilson has played in the third-most games (70) of any Jaguars player and the most games of any defensive player during that span. He began his career as an undrafted rookie playing primarily on special teams and has worked his way into a key member of the secondary at free safety. Over the last two seasons (2019-20), Wilson has played in 23 games (all starts) and posted 110 tackles, six passes defensed and three INTs.
QUOTABLE: “He’s a tremendous person. He takes control of that room. He’s a great professional. He was that way early on coming out and he understood what he needed to do to develop himself as an individual and to just naturally turn into a leader within that group. He’s a great leader, not just in the group but obviously with our team. He’s a guy that as a coaching staff we can bounce things off of, we ask him questions. He’s a true leader and it’s great to see where he’s come from to obviously being nominated for this award.” – Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash
BARTCH AT THE BANK: Sunday’s game will be the Jaguars first regular season game at U.S. Bank Stadium in franchise history. Jacksonville previously played at U.S. Bank Stadium in the 2018 preseason and defeated the Vikings, 14-10. U.S. Bank Stadium is one of two current NFL stadiums at which the Jaguars have not yet played and is the fourth-newest stadium in the league.
U.S. Bank Stadium is just 77 miles away from Clemens Stadium, which is the home of the St. John’s Johnnies, where rookie OL Ben Bartch played collegiately. Bartch made history when he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. Bartch became the first Johnny to be drafted since 1974, the first player to be drafted from any Division III program in the last five years and the first player to be drafted from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference since 2003.
Bartch has seen an increased role on offense in recent weeks and played 39 snaps (34 on offense) in Week 12 against Cleveland. He has seen action in all 11 games this season.
QUOTABLE: “This is a kid that we think has a lot of upside. He played very well and held his own at the Senior Bowl. It wasn’t too big for him. We think we got a lot of value in this kid and a lot of ability to grow. [It’s] Division III football, but it’s a very good program that they’re in. But the athleticism we really liked and the kid’s a really smart kid, he’s competitive, he’s tough. He checked off a lot of the intangible parts, plus the tangibles.” – Director of College Scouting Mark Ellenz
#ProBowlVote: Fans are now able to vote for their favorite Jaguars players to make the Pro Bowl on Twitter and by heading to NFL.com/ProBowlVote. To cast a vote, fans can tweet #ProBowlVote with either 1) the first and last name of the player (#ProBowlVote James Robinson), 2) the player’s official Twitter handle (#ProBowlVote @robinson_jamess), or 3) a hashtag including the player’s first and last name (#ProBowlVote #JamesRobinson). Roster selections are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts 1/3 toward determining the 88 All-Star players.
RB James Robinson can become the third running back in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl ashe continues his stellar rookie season. Robinson has gained 1,170 scrimmage yards, the fourth-most in the NFL this season and posteda career-high 159 scrimmage yards last week against the Browns. He joins three-time Pro Bowl RB Maurice Jones-Drew and the franchise’s leading rusher, RB Fred Taylor, as the only players in franchise history to gain at least 1,000 scrimmage yards and score eight or more TDs in the first 12 weeks of a single season.
With 110 yards this weekend, Robinson would join Taylor as the only players in franchise history to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in their first 12 career games.
QUOTABLE: “He’s truly an amazing person. He has a great heart, he’s bright as can be. He always practices hard. He’s everything that you would want.” – Head Coach Doug Marrone
Cooke’s Corner: Over the last four weeks (9-12), P Logan Cooke has placed 11 punts inside the 20-yard line, the most in the NFL during that span. Of Cooke’s 11 punts inside the 20 over the last four weeks, eight have been inside the 10-yard line, which is also the most in the league during that span.
Cooke’s 43.6 net punting average is the second-highest in the AFC this season, and his 42.9 net punting average since entering the NFL in 2018 is the second-highest in the league during that span (min. 50 punts). While Cooke has never played at U.S. Bank Stadium in the regular season, he has posted a 44.1 net punting average in nine games in domes in his career. He punted seven times for 299 yards (42.7 avg.) in a preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium during his rookie season in 2018.
QUOTABLE: “[He] always has a really good demeanor, never really gets rattled, can come back if it’s a poor kick because everyone’s going to have those from time to time. But [he] has really been a solid draft pick, solid guy, guy that we’ve gotten production out of and he had a great year last year in the net. He continues to play well, and I think he’ll be a guy that’s in this league for a very long time.” – Head Coach Doug Marrone
