JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are beaten up, reeling and fading fast. Can Doug Pederson and Jacksonville dial up its magic from two years ago or are things too far gone to fix?
The Jaguars (2-6) have the same record they had in 2022 when they ripped off a 7-2 finish to win the AFC South and reach the playoffs. The Jaguars are fighting to stay out of the basement of the division, saved only by the fact that the Titans (1-6) are battling the Panthers (1-7) for worst team in the league honors.
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The Jaguars aren’t far behind from joining that conversation.
Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Packers highlighted the typical issues over much of the last year of Jaguars football. Jacksonville played well in spurts, but did its best work when facing a double-digit deficit. Trevor Lawrence had two killer turnovers that turned into Green Bay touchdowns but Lawrence guided the team back from that 10-point hole into a tie game. In that comeback, Lawrence was working with an offense that included Parker Washington, Tim Jones, Evan Engram and Brenton Strange at the pass catching positions.
But Pederson said that the Jaguars need to find a way to not fall into those deficits. Coming back against a team like the Patriots is one thing, but doing it against a team like the Packers is another. Jacksonville is headed to Philadelphia (5-2) for a 4:05 p.m. game on Sunday for another tough test.
“The fact that we did what we did at the end to tie the football game is pretty remarkable considering the amount of injuries we had late in the game,” Pederson said. “Trevor, I thought did a great job leading the team. The guys around him, Parker, Tim, Evan, Brenton, I mean, they made plays for him too. The offensive line did some good things. So that part of it was good and now we’ve just, somehow, got to get that to translate to the first play of the game and then carry on from there.”
Late comeback attempt aside, the issues remain constant.
The defense can’t stop teams and Lawrence remains the ultimate hot and cold player. Mix in a rash of injuries, including another season-ending setback for receiver Christian Kirk, and this season feels far more like it’s fallen into the chasm of lost. Pederson said on Monday that the list of injuries was tough, but only Kirk’s appears to be a season-ending one. Receivers Brian Thomas Jr. has a chest contusion and is day to day and Gabe Davis should be back for Week 9. Guard Ezra Cleveland and cornerback Ronald Darby are in day-to-day monitoring.
A season that began with the Jaguars hellbent on changing the narrative that they’d grown and improved from the implosion of 2023 has been thrown to the wayside. The Jaguars have a 4% chance of reaching the playoffs, certainly not what owner Shad Khan envisioned when he said playoffs were the expectation in the 30th season of the franchise.
Barring a miraculous finish, the Jaguars are headed for their second straight postseason miss and another offseason overhaul. Khan has been a patient during his tenure but such a spectacular flame out by the Jaguars as a whole can’t be swept to the side.
General manager Trent Baalke’s roster construction has to be taken into consideration as well. While there have been some positives, the free agent class has underwhelmed. Davis and Arik Armstead, two high priced additions, have been disappointing.
Contract extensions handed out to Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell, well received at the time, don’t look the best nearing the midseason point. Campbell is back in the lineup after missing four games with a hamstring injury. Hines-Allen, the highest-paid defensive player in franchise history, has played in every game but produced just three sacks. Travon Walker has taken reins as the team’s top pass rusher and appears poised for his second consecutive double-digit sack season. But the lack of a pass rush is something Pederson said needs to improve.
“Listen, we’ve got to take a look at it. I do believe still we’ve got the right guys there. Whether we move them more or bring five-man pressure, six-man pressures, whatever we’ve got to do to affect the passer, we’ve got to be able to do that,” Pederson said. “I know Ryan is looking hard at that, takes a lot of pride in that. It’s an area that we’ve got to improve.”
How much of Hines-Allen and Armstead’s struggles are a product of diminished play and how much is due to bad scheme? New coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s defense has been shredded from Week 3 onward. Against the Packers, it struggled against an injured Jordan Love and then watched as backup Malik Willis calmly went out and marched Green Bay on the game-winning scoring drive.
Nielsen rotates players frequently and leans on heavy man defense, which probably explains why Jacksonville is having so much trouble slowing opposing quarterbacks. The secondary has been the worst unit on the defense.
“It’s just something that as we look at the tape, look at the personnel, you try to put you try to put a finger on it,” Pederson said. “Is it the scheme? Is it the execution by the players? I would say it’s a little of both right now.”
The Jaguars rank 29th in yards allowed, yards per game and points allowed, and 31st in passing yards per game, total passing yards and average points allowed. Jacksonville is tied for next to last with just four takeaways. The run defense has been solid (ninth at 111 yards per game) but that’s about the only bright spot.