Winning away games isn’t easy in the NFL and that especially could be the case for the Jacksonville Jaguars who’ve ended the last two football seasons with the worst record in football. However, when it comes to the Jags’ Week 1 game against the Washington Commanders, their chances to win became a little better than expected on Friday.
The reason for that is because the Commanders won’t have their top pass-rusher in Chase Young, who is still in the process of recovering from an ACL tear he sustained on Nov. 14 against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Commanders coach Ron Rivera revealed the news Friday on the “Sports Junkies” show on 106.7 The Fan.
Rivera: "Going into the season, he will not play the first game, let me put it that way. He will not be ready for Week 1."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) July 29, 2022
This news comes after Young was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list for training camp, and Rivera said he’d be on the list longer than others who were on there.
The Commanders were 3.5-point favorites to win, and while they still should be favorites, it eventually may not be by much as Young was ranked as the 24th-ranked edge defender by Pro Football Focus last season. That’s a significant deal for a team that ranked 28th against the pass.
Young’s status is also an important thing because the Jags could be starting Walker Little at right tackle, which is a position he hasn’t played in the regular season. He’s set to battle Jawaan Taylor for the position in camp after flashing last season in the three starts he received at left tackle.
