Yes, the Jaguars are better in 2022 than in 2021... but still a long way from the honor roll. Check out the midseason Jaguars Report Card.
When it needs the Trevor Lawrence-led offense to put together a game-winning or game-tying drive in the last two minutes, the quarterback struggles to get it done.
Many might say the Jaguars are the unluckiest NFL team, being 0-6 in one-score games after eight weeks. But the reality of a parity-driven league is close games are the norm, so the Jaguars are hardly alone being victimized in cruel fashion. Of the Jaguars’ 480 minutes of football, they have held the lead for 234 minutes and one second, more than twice as long as the opposition , yet have lost six times. Last year, the Jaguars only held a lead for 158 minutes, 12 seconds in the season’s entire 1,020 minutes.
For myriad reasons, the Jaguars can’t overcome their own incompetence or execute in game-deciding moments. The offense has also shown decent improvement on third down, raising its conversion percentage from 36 percent to 41.2 percent. Three of Lawrence’s six interceptions came in the red zone. None were more galling than end-zone picks on 2nd-and-1 from the 7 against Houston and 1st-and-goal from the 1 against Denver. Those ill-advised throws took seven points off the board, both gaffes being major factors in close losses.
For now, Lawrence’s touch as a passer simply doesn’t match his physical gifts, like making a wide open Etienne reach out too much on a short pass on fourth-and-goal at the 3 against Washington. That incompletion was probably a lost TD. The Jaguars must find more ways to get No. 1 the ball since he leads the team with 10 plays of 20-plus yards, including four on catches. In starting the last three games, Etienne has 356 yards and two TDs on 48 carries for a 7.4-yard average.
With Trevor having more time in Pederson’s system and new players getting accustomed to playing with each other, this offense should step it up in the second half. Nobody would have envisioned this grade before October rolled around. After three games, the Jaguars were ranked fifth overall in total defense and No. 1 against the run.
And if you want to get nit-picky, even when the Jaguars’ defense held up nicely against Houston, it still ended up giving that game away. Tied 6-6 and with the Texans stuck in 3rd-and-20, Travon Walker picked up a dead-ball, unnecessary roughness penalty to ignite the Texans’ game-winning drive. Being a contender in the mediocre AFC South division should be plenty attainable for the Jaguars, but the defense being too suspect at inopportune times is derailing that opportunity.
Unfortunately, the Jaguars don’t have as much pass-rush depth as they hope since K’Lavon Chaisson got hurt and has played only 28 defensive snaps. So far, the decision has been a sound one as Patterson has converted 11 of 12 field goal attempts, including 10 in a row since banging a 37-yarder off the right upright in Week 1 at Washington. Patterson made his longest kick, a 52-yarder, in the 24-0 win over Indianapolis.
From a coverage standpoint, the Jaguars are in the top half of the league at ninth in punt coverage and 15th in kickoff coverage . Chris Claybrooks, one of the team’s fastest players, and Daniel Thomas have done a solid job as the team’s primary gunners in punt coverage. Nobody can say Pederson or his staff haven’t put the Jaguars in position to win. The players just aren’t finishing.
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