Sacks don’t tell full story for Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen

The main criticism for Josh Hines-Allen, and the Jaguars' pass-rush on the whole, is the lack of sack production. The unit has ranked 24th, 29th, 30th, 27th, and 28th in sack % over the last five years

It's not a surprise fans want to finally see a team that gets home, however, the sacks, or lack thereof, don't tell the whole story in Anthony Campanile's defense.

Josh Hines-Allen and the Jaguars' pass-rush is actually doing more heavy lifting than many fans decide According to the NFL's NextGenStats, the Jaguars pressure opposing quarterbacks the fastest on average of any team (2.44s) and at the eighth highest rate (39.1%). Unfortunately, the opposing quarterback is getting the ball out quicker than any other team (3.06s) than any other team.

The Jaguars also flash the fastest get-off in the league at just 0.77s and it's Josh Hines-Allen who is the Jaguars' quickest to pressure. He is tied for the most quick pressures on the team (7) and has one of the fastest get-offs.

The sacks aren't there, but the impact is. The Jaguars have forced the second-most turnovers off pressure. That said, the impact of sacks can't be understated. There's no way around it, they are simply drive killers, in most defenses that is.

Josh Hines-Allen is statistically having about the worst season of his career as a pass-rusher.

This year, his pressure rate sits right at 9.8%, where his previous season-worst was 11.7% in his injury-shortened 2020 season. He's on pace for just over four sacks this season.

But, both NextGenStats and Pro Football Focus believe his actual pass-rushing success is far greater than these numbers might indicate. His pass-rush win rate ranks 10th and 22nd among edge-rushers, respectively, between the two datasets. Teams are getting the ball out so quickly, it's rare they get a true chance to sack the quarterback.

The Jaguars rank as the NFL's best run-defense for the second straight season and Hines-Allen's impact on the edge is a big reason as to why. As a run-defender, he's among the best in the NFL.

Hines-Allen's 11.5% run-stop % ranks third at the position and Travon Walker isn't too far behind at 15th (7.5%). The impact of those two as edge-setters is among the league's best kept secrets. It's why the Jaguars are the best run-defense team in the league.

The truth is, the Hines-Allen and the Jags are doing precisely what Campanile wants, and it's working. Force teams to become one-dimensional, make them uncomfortable in the pocket, and the mistakes will come.

Fans might not be happy that the sacks aren't there, but the turnovers are. As a result, the Jaguars are third in points per game (17.3) and, truthfully, that's all that really matters. This week Daniel Jones comes to town, tied for the NFL-lead in turnovers.

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