Jaguars' collapse started well before loss to Titans, and may unspool into offseason of soul-searching
Wow. That’s the appropriate reaction to what happened to the Jacksonville Jaguars this season.
Just a month ago, this team was 8-3 with a chance to contend for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs entering a game against Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals. They went 1-5 since that point, a burst of losing that started with that Monday night loss.
Head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Trevor Lawrence were expected to take the Jaguars' offense to the next level this season after the way Lawrence closed the 2022 season. Instead of ascending into the upper echelon of the AFC, they had a season that can be described only as a complete failure.
The Jaguars lost everything over the final six games of the season. They lost four straight games before receiving some reprieve on New Year's Eve against the ill-fated Carolina Panthers (who didn’t score a point over their final two weeks of the season).
Even with their stumbling to the finish, the Jaguars still had a strong chance to win the AFC South if they could just get past the 5-11 Titans. In a division rivalry like this, all bets can be off, but this is a matchup the Jaguars should’ve handled. Ryan Tannehill was starting in place of Will Levis — and he struggled throwing at times Sunday.
Instead, the Jaguars lost 28-20 and watched their playoff hopes evaporate.
On paper, this lined up well for the Jaguars to win and get in the playoffs, but they totally faltered in crucial spots. Derrick Henry continued his domination against the Jaguars by rushing for 153 yards and a touchdown, rookie running back Tyjae Spears chipped in with two more touchdowns and the Jaguars screwed up a goal-line sequence at the end of the game that sealed their fate.
"Scored on [that play] four or five times, and didn't on that one," Lawrence said, "and so it's unfortunate and something I can learn from."
The Jaguars spent almost the entire back half of the season floundering in such an overt manner that’s hard not to be stunned at what happened here.
"I think today’s game is our season in a nutshell," Pederson said.
It’s not like the Jaguars were theoretically a good team, they actually were a good team to start the season. Attaining an 8-3 record is hard in the NFL. They beat the Texans, who eventually won the AFC South, on Nov. 26 to take a two-game lead in the division. They were neck-and-neck with the eventual top seed Ravens, until they weren’t.
To be on the outside looking in, not even in the playoffs after that start is almost unfathomable and it may cause the organization to shake up how things are run. General manager Trent Baalke, the coaching staff and the players all share responsibility for where they ended up at the final buzzer.
Figuring out where to go from here will be tough. The Jaguars have some quality talent that can win games. Travon Walker just finished a breakout sophomore season, Josh Allen is going to become one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the league after a career year, and even having Lawrence is a huge positive despite how the season ended. They’ll have to figure out what to do with Calvin Ridley and his contract, but this is far from a talentless team.
Offensive coordinator Press Taylor was on the wrong end of a lot of scrutiny this season as far as his play-calling goes, but Pederson didn’t seem to make a meaningful change there during the season. That may be a spot on the staff that needs tweaking as the Jaguars start to evaluate what next season will look like for them.
The Jaguars and their fans have to be disappointed in how this season turned out because they were right to have high expectations. Unfortunately, they were their own worst enemy, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Not only do they have to deal with their shortcomings, but they also have a newly formed giant in their division with the Texans suddenly boasting an MVP-caliber quarterback in C.J. Stroud. The picture for success isn’t as clean as it was at the start of this season.
Time for some soul-searching in Jacksonville — because the way December and January went for the Jaguars was a collapse that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
