JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars have a pulse. They’re still scratching and clawing their way back to respectability and there’s a long way to go.
Yes, Jacksonville remains buried under the weight of its 0-4 start, but it has shown signs of progress. The Jaguars have won two of their last three games, including Sunday’s 32-16 romp over the Patriots. They return home in Week 8 to host the Packers at EverBank Stadium on Sunday.
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Maybe, just maybe, a win over arguably the NFL’s worst team kickstarts Jacksonville on a second half surge like fans saw in 2022. Or perhaps the upcoming gauntlet of games — Green Bay, at Philadelphia, Minnesota, at Detroit and then home against Houston — exposes the fault lines in a team that has been far too up and down for sustained winning.
At 2-5, the margin for error is razor thin. Jacksonville needs a surge and a collapse by the Texans to have a shot to win the AFC South. The Jaguars have a 7% chance of reaching the playoffs, but they’re just two games behind the No. 7 seed, Indianapolis (4-3) for a wildcard spot.
Head coach Doug Pederson just wanted to see some consistency and the Jaguars finally provided it against New England. They fell into a quick 10-0 hole but flipped the game with 25 unanswered points across the second and third quarters. There are still trouble spots on defense with the inability to force turnovers and get to the quarterback. Edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen has just 2.5 sacks after a franchise-record 17.5 last year. The team has forced just three turnovers. At the other edge spot, Travon Walker continues to improve. He notched his team-best sixth sack on Sunday.
There have been flickers of promise for the Jaguars on offense, too.
Trevor Lawrence was mired in the worst start of his career in the first month of the season. In Jacksonville’s three October games, Lawrence has completed 66 of 89 passes for 798 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers would be substantially better with a little bit more production from receivers Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. looks like the alpha receiver that Jacksonville has lacked. He’s fifth in the league in yardage (513) and tied for eighth in touchdowns (four).
And maybe Lawrence is just a streaky player who delivers in chunks, both on the positive and negative side. If the first four games of the season were the low point, then the last three games have showcased Lawrence is on the ascent.
“Let’s hope he’s streaky and he gets on a streak, right? I mean, that’s what we all hope for,” Pederson said. “I think too, he’s continuing to grow with what we’re doing and learning. You’ve got to understand it’s only his third year in this system and playing this position. So, he’s done a great job for us. Like I said, I hope if this is him getting on a streak, let’s keep it going. Let’s stay with the hot hand.”
Part of Lawrence’s improvement can be attributed to comfort in the pocket. In wins over the Colts and Patriots, he hasn’t been sacked. The oft-criticized offensive line has finally shown some consistency and done much better protecting Lawrence. They did it without left tackle Cam Robinson, who left the game with a head injury and is in the concussion protocol. Walker Little replaced Robinson and the Jaguars didn’t miss a beat. Lawrence was efficient through the air and Tank Bigsby ran for a career-high 118 yards during the heaviest workload of his time in the league.
“I thought he did a good job,” Pederson said of Little. “Obviously, about the fourth or fifth play, he has to come into the game and play from there. Walker’s a pro. That’s what I like about him. He comes to work every day, prepares like a starter, and he’s always ready, and you never know.”
Pederson said that health and continuity across the offensive line is something that it didn’t have the luxury of last year. Those struggles showed week after week as Lawrence was beaten up physically and missed the first start of his NFL career.
“I think what you’re seeing is these guys have now logged a lot of time together and there’s some continuity there,” Pederson said. “If you just go back to last year and all the different line combinations we had each week, it’s difficult. It’s hard and it’s hard to get consistency. I think that’s what you’re seeing. I think you’re seeing the consistency up front.”