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          NFL Nation

          Jaguars' new offense impressive in preseason opener

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterAug 14, 2015, 10:55 PM ET
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A few thoughts on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 23-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers:

          What it means: The biggest takeaway from Friday’s game is the fact that the new offense installed by coordinator Greg Olson looked much more functional than last year’s unit. The first-team unit gained 135 yards and scored 11 points on its three drives. The run game generated 43 yards on 13 carries, but that included one sack for minus-6 yards. Also encouraging was the fact that other than the one sack, in which James Harrison beat Luke Joeckel, the offensive line protected Bortles well. That’s a unit that had a big hand in giving up an NFL-worst 71 sacks in 2014.

          Stat of note, Part I: Of Bortles’ four incompletions, three were drops. Allen Hurns, Clay Harbor and Bernard Pierce were the culprits. The drops by Harbor and Pierce came on the same drive in the second quarter, a drive that eventually ended with a Bortles 4-yard TD run.

          Stat of note, Part II: The Jaguars were one of the NFL’s worst teams on third down last season (31.9 percent; 29th in the league) but the first-team offense converted three of six third downs.

          Injuries of note: TE Julius Thomas suffered a fractured finger on his right hand, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via a league source. He is expected to undergo further testing on Saturday.

          What’s next: The Jaguars will play at the New York Giants on Saturday, Aug. 22. The last time the teams met was Nov. 30, 2014, when the Jaguars rallied from a 21-3 deficit for a 25-24 victory at EverBank Field.