The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) entered the 2018 regular season as a Super Bowl favorite, but have faced a myriad of issues through seven games, including a current three-game slide.
Some of the problems include a defense that suddenly can't stop anybody, postgame locker room drama, the absence of running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) and starting quarterback Blake Bortles coming off a benching in Week 7, among other areas.
Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell, who has endured it all, is scheduled to make an appearance on NFL Network's Total Access following Thursday Night Football.
While Campbell is sure to share thoughts on a variety of topics, one subject sure to come up is the quarterback position, where Campbell emphasized he has confidence in Bortles, who has accounted for five interceptions and three lost fumbles in the past three games.
"You know I look into his eyes and I see the competitor," Campbell said. "Nobody's tougher on himself than Blake. He loves the game, wants to do well. He understands.
"Take away the turnovers [and] this is a different ballgame. He's focused and working hard. I see it in his eyes that he's ready to go. So I'm confident in him. The team's confident in him. Hopefully we get on the road here and make some good things happen."
Positive things, unfortunately, haven't gone the Jaguars' way during the current losing streak, a span where the defense is allowing an average of 30 points per game.
But Campbell and his teammates aren't ready to go in panic mode, especially when considering the Jaguars are just one game out of first place in the AFC South entering Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-4).
"Real take is we've had a couple of bad weeks of football," Campbell said. "But at the end of the day, we're still alive. [The] opportunities are right there in front of us."
Tune in Thursday night to catch Campbell's interview on Total Access.
