JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars left a memorable impression for all the wrong reasons last season.
But it’s optimism season for Jacksonville and the NFL’s other 31 franchises. When the Jaguars visit Miami on Sunday at 1, the fresh start and cautious optimism are welcome.
Recommended Videos
Jacksonville was lauded almost universally as a playoff team last year. Trevor Lawrence was ascending. The defense had young cornerstones. Head coach Doug Pederson had won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in his second season there.
A fast start last year put the Jaguars in the lead spot in the AFC at 8-3. Then, the bottom fell out. A year earlier under Pederson, the Jaguars started 2-6 and then ripped off an unforgettable finish to win the AFC South and reach the divisional playoffs. More than a blistering start or a ferocious finish out of necessity, the Jaguars want to be consistent more than anything. The expectations aren’t as high from the outside in Jacksonville as they were in 2023, and that’s not a bad thing for Pederson.
“I mean, it’s fine. Just go about our business, right? Just keep working hard and playing hard. Don’t worry about the outside, just make it about us and focus internally,” Pederson said. “People are going to write what they want to write, and if you start winning games, then maybe you get some recognition. It’s one week at a time. It’s one game at a time, obviously, and I’m fine with that.”
Jacksonville has posted back-to-back 9-8 seasons, the first time that the franchise has put up consecutive winning seasons under owner Shad Khan. But this is unquestionably a different type of season for the Jaguars.
Khan has publicly said that this is the most talented roster that Jacksonville has ever had. The team beefed up on the defensive line, added some firepower at receiver (Gabe Davis, rookie Brian Thomas Jr.) and had a relatively solid training camp and preseason.
How will that translate into performance once things start to count?
“I think everybody, Week 1, thinks they’re a good football team. It gives you confidence, obviously, going into the game and going into these early games. But you still have to go execute, you still have to go play and perform and eliminate mistakes and you’re going to have to overcome adversity and all of that,” Pederson said. “But I think in your mind, going into it, you feel good about where you’re at and how camp went and all of that.”
Nuts and bolts
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday. Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. TV: CBS. Radio: 1010 AM, 92.5 FM. Line: Dolphins by 3.5. Predictions can be found here.
Sunshine State showdown
The Dolphins and Jaguars have met 10 times in the regular season and split in those games. Jacksonville has won three of the last four meetings, including Lawrence’s first NFL victory with a 23-20 walk-off winner in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jaguars won the first two games in the series, including a 62-7 romp in the AFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 15, 2000. It remains the largest playoff win since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. This is Jacksonville’s shortest road trip of the year.
Jaguars in openers
This marks the start of the 30th season in franchise history. Jacksonville is 15-14 in Week 1 games. They are 1-3 in games played on Sept. 8, winning in 2018 (20-15 over the Giants) and losing in 2019 (40-26 to Chiefs), 2013 (28-2 to Chiefs) and 2002 (28-25 to Colts).
Injuries
The Jaguars are in relatively good health. Only Daniel Thomas is on the injured list with an Achilles. He is questionable for the game. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead was listed on the injury report Friday but only as a rest day. Armstead was given a hefty contract in free agency and has been limited in training camp and the preseason after undergoing knee surgery