We are now here at Week 17 in the NFL regular season, only two games left, and the Jaguars are getting set take on the Carolina Panthers in their final home game of the season on New Year’s Eve.
Jacksonville is trying to hang on for dear life to its playoff hopes. The team is 8-7 and currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Their most recent loss happened this past week on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-12.
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The past four weeks for the Jaguars have been devasting in terms of mistakes, injuries and just nothing going right for the team on the field.
Fortunately for Jacksonville, it is still in control of its own destiny. Both Indianapolis and Houston also lost last week, keeping Jacksonville at the top of the AFC South by only a division-record tiebreaker over the other two teams.
If Jacksonville comes away with the win on Sunday and the Texans and Colts both lose, the Jaguars can clinch the AFC South division.
Unfortunately, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup. Lawrence left last week’s loss against the Buccaneers. An MRI came back confirming he sprained his right shoulder, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport also said it is not believed to be a major injury to his throwing shoulder. But Lawrence will miss at least one game.
However, the Jaguars could get some help coming back its way. On Tuesday, head coach Doug Pederson announced that offensive tackle Cam Robinson is returning from injured reserve, opening up his 21-day practice window. Pederson is hopeful Robinson can give it a go on Sunday.
The Panthers come into Jacksonville with the worst record in the league at 2-13 and have long been eliminated from playoff contention.
Jacksonville and Carolina both joined the league at the same time as part of the expansion, so it is a young rivalry, the Panthers currently lead 4-3 all-time against the Jaguars.
The Panthers started the season with former Colts head coach Frank Reich at the helm. But Reich was fired after 11 games, and special teams coach Chris Tabor was named as the interim.
Recently though, Carolina has been playing much more competitive football, beating Atlanta 9-7 two weeks ago, and then coming off a tough loss this past week at home to Green Bay 33-30.
The Panthers are led on offense by their first overall pick in this year’s draft, rookie quarterback Bryce Young out of Alabama. Young has had his fair share of growing pains this season, but the Panthers believe he is the future. Despite the loss last week, Young’s play was a good sign.
Last week against Green Bay, Young played his best game as an NFL quarterback, setting single-game career-highs in passing yards and passer rating. He finished 23 or 35 for 312 passing yards and two touchdowns, with a passer rating of 113.
Catching passes for Young are his main two targets, Adam Thielen and former Jaguars wideout D.J. Chark.
Chark spoke after the team’s loss the Packers about what he thought of the rookie quarterback’s performance.
“There’s so much more to come,” Chark said. “He’s making plays, he’s comfortable, but that’s who we know him to be, at least in this locker room. We do, we believed in him the whole way through. Three, four or five years from now, he’s going be definitely at the top, if not one of the top QBs.”
Tabor was also impressed with Young’s performance and the growth he has shown throughout the season.
“You’re seeing a guy play with some confidence and understanding,” Tabor said. “He’s smart. He’s understanding how the game’s being played and what needs to be done, and he’s doing those things. You’re seeing a rookie player grow.”
Chark had his best day as a member of the Panthers offense last week, finishing the game with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Thielen finished last week with six catches for 94 yards and was also impressed with Young’s play.
“Man, impressive,” Thielen said. “Really the stuff that I saw and a lot of us saw in OTAs, training camp. Just that confidence, that kind of attitude. And then, you collectively make some plays for him, and watch out, he’s got the hot hand, as we say. So, obviously super impressive and excited to build on that.”
Even though it was a losing effort, Young thinks the team stepped up and looked really good overall as a team.
“Just as a unit, we started to hit our stride a little, which was obviously very encouraging,” Young said. “It’s good to kind of see the little things, little details that went into that. So, it was good to reflect on, and then now, it’s another week where we have to earn the right to replicate those good things that we did, and then learn from the stuff that we still need to work on.”
Young knows the team’s main goal is to win but that right now they must focus on earning the right to do that.
“The goal is only working day in and day out throughout the week to win games on Sunday,” Young said. “We have to earn the right to do that, and that’s what every coach will say, what every player will say that that’s what it’s about.”
Young also learned a valuable lesson during the team’s loss last week and talked about it in his preparation for this week against Jacksonville.
“Just want to start faster ... we’ve talked about that as a team,” Young said. “Definitely myself, watching film, not wasting throws, not wasting possessions. I think we got to a point where it came down to seconds, so every throw, every possession, every piece of yardage all matters. Trying to start faster and clean that up.”
Another reliable target Young has been building chemistry with lately is tight end Tommy Tremble. Tremble had his best game as well last week, catching four passes for 59 yards. Young talked about how the pair has built that relationship over recent weeks.
“I think in the last few weeks, especially in practice, we’re developing a trust,” Tremble said. “And you have to develop that connection before you can take it on the field. He trusted me enough to just let it rip this past Sunday. And it was fun. We had a blast out there all day, driving up and down the field, getting points and playing loose.”
When it comes to the running game Carolina has been leaning on running back Chuba Hubbard to carry the load, but Hubbard only practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday due to a hamstring injury. Carolina’s other back, Miles Sanders, has been practicing in full since Wednesday after suffering a toe injury.
Defensively, the Panthers have been solid. They are giving up only 296.8 yards per game this season, a number that ranks sixth in the league. The defense is also only allowing a 37% opponent third-down conversion rate, that ranks 12th in the league.
Last week, linebacker Frankie Luvu tallied 10 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble, becoming one of only three Panthers to ever do so.
Luvu and another big player on defense for Carolina, cornerback Jaycee Horn, have been ruled as questionable for Sunday’s matchup.
Tabor was asked about the chances his guys are good to go, including left tackle Ikem Ekwonu. On Friday, he was hopeful they would play and would make a decision on gameday.
Panthers defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero says it doesn’t matter who starts at quarterback for Jacksonville.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Evero said. “They’re a good offense. The backup has played really well this year and when he’s gotten his opportunities. They got skill players, a really good back, really good receivers. They do a great job schematically as well. And so, whoever’s playing quarterback for them is going to be a tough challenge and we got to be ready to go.”
The Panthers have also been playing well on special teams. Carolina ranks first in the league in kickoff return average. The 27.2 yards per attempt mark is shared between former Jaguars wideout Laviska Shenault and Raheem Blackshear. Blackshear also leads the league in kickoff return average with 27.9 yards.
Now that the Panthers have started to play better football, their quarterback wants to keep that momentum moving forward the rest of the way.
“We got a taste of it ... it’s great ... but it doesn’t entitle us to anything this week,” Young said. “And now that we have that taste in our mouth, we want to make sure that we can grow.”
Tabor also talked about how the team is playing better and how they can use that these last two weeks.
“You see it and you feel it right now with regards to guys playing more confident and that only helps everybody and hopefully we can continue that,” Tabor said. “This is going to be a tough game for us on the road. We haven’t won on the road yet. So, there is a lot at stake for us. There’s a lot at stake for the guys and their film. And you know this week of preparation is big.”
With only two games left, Tabors knows this is a big opportunity for his team against Jacksonville on Sunday.
“I think that is what we are going to try to do this week,” Tabor said. “We got another opportunity; we are only promised two more opportunities and we are going on the road against a really good team that’s looking to get into the playoffs. So, for us it’s a playoff for us so we need to be ready to play.”