The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-1 so far this season and that’s only surprising based on your preseason thoughts about the roster. Sure, they have a new regime in town with young, exciting players, but it’s still the same old guard on the field for the most part.
So, it’s not surprising then that the national media would be sliding the Jaguars up their power rankings following a 17-10 Week 3 win over the Houston Texans. But, in doing so they continue to point out they still aren’t very good, especially on offense.
It’s probably best summed up by Josh Kendall and Chad Graff of The Athletic. Last week, the Jags were No. 19 on their list, but now they are up to No. 16. The reason they are still so low is essentially that they have the same quarterback playing at the same level as previous years.
“This is Trevor Lawrence’s fifth NFL season, and we keep waiting for a breakout that once felt inevitable,” they wrote. “But the switch to Liam Coen as head coach hasn’t come with the positive shift in Lawrence many expected. It’s still early, but this season, Lawrence has completed just 58.8 percent of his passes (30th in the NFL) for 5.9 yards per attempt (25th) and has thrown as many touchdowns (four) as interceptions.”
Jacksonville Jaguars defense credited for keeping team afloat
The Jaguars don’t beat the Texans on Sunday if Anthony Campanile’s defense doesn’t hold them to a measly 10 points. Outside of Travis Etienne, who is third in the NFL in rushing yards (who saw that one coming?), the offense hasn’t carried their weight. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports was quick to point that out in his latest power rankings.
“The defense saved the day against the Texans, but the offense still isn’t clicking,” Prisco writes, sliding the Jags up to No. 17 from No. 19. “They have way too many penalties and drops.”
Nate Davis of USA Today adjusted his power rankings exactly the same as Prisco did. He also remarked about the defense in his “praise” of the team.
“DE Josh Hines-Allen needs two sacks to become this franchise’s all-time leader,” Davis writes. “Tony Brackens, with 55, is currently the standard bearer … and a reminder that the Jags’ best days occurred a quarter-century ago.”
Nate had to get that last little dig in there about the overall state of the franchise, didn’t he?
More criticism of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense
Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports moved the Jags all the way up to No. 16 from his previous slot of No. 22. He’s another guy who is kind of stunned at the Jags start considering the putrid offense.
“It wasn’t the most impressive performance, but the Jaguars pulled out a win against an offensively inept Texans team,” Schwab writes. “Trevor Lawrence doesn’t look much better, Travis Hunter’s usage is strange, Brian Thomas Jr. is a shell of his rookie self, and despite all that the Jaguars are doing OK at 2-1.”
Eric Edholm of NFL.com takes it a step further and acknowledges that the Jaguars simply haven’t played anyone good. That’s true, but you can only play the teams in front of you. He has Jacksonville up six spots at No. 17 this week.
“The Panthers, Bengals and Texans might not represent the most fearsome trio of opponents, but the Jaguars’ defense held up well against all three, for the most part, which is a big reason for the team’s 2-1 start,” Edholm writes. “They’ll rue letting that Cincinnati game get away, but Sunday was a turn in the right direction . A young team has to make big plays in crunch time to learn how to win, and the Jaguars did just that with three fourth-quarter turnovers against Houston — their third straight three-TO game to open the season.
“Liam Coen’s offense still has plenty of room for growth, and Brian Thomas Jr. ’s struggles have been borderline alarming. He had three drops by my count and seemed mostly miserable for the game’s first 58 minutes, but Thomas came up with a massive catch late to help the Jaguars pull out the thriller and earn a big divisional win.”
It’s a very weak division so a 2-1 start could end up going a long way. Unless the offense never gets out of its own way and they lose the next eight in a row.