Jacksonville Jaguars Week 1 Power Rankings: Some respect maybe
By Daniel Lago
After a valiant effort against one of the better teams in the NFL, the Jaguars deserve some credit despite a loss.
The Jacksonille Jaguars loss on Sunday was a tough one to swallow but there were some encouraging signs. The team didn’t look like hot garbage in week 1 for the first time in head coach Gus Bradley’s tenure and they probably should have beaten an Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers squad.
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Playing well against a play off team is a step in the right direction, but the Jaguars need to start collecting wins to really earn respect.
Here’s a brief collection of some rankings around the web as the Jaguars look to bounce back in week 2:
"18. Jacksonville Jaguars (last week: 18)There was plenty of talk about the Jaguars being legitimate contenders in the AFC, and they showed on Sunday that they’re fairly close to being just that. Jacksonville was a fourth-down conversion from potentially beating the second-best team in the NFC (Packers) and held its own on defense throughout the game. The Jaguars remain in the bottom-half of the league, but they’re going to improve."
"17JaguarsThey have to learn to win games like they lost to the Packers. Now they face a long, tough trip West to play the Chargers."
"18. (0-1) JAGUARSThe Jaguars hung tough on Sunday, although many of the traits from last season held true in Week 1. Last year, Jacksonville scored 23.5 points per game, though the defense was more of an issue, allowing 28. So Jacksonville lost by the score of 27-23 to Green Bay. Obvi. (Sorry, too much Snapchatting has altered my writing.) The good? The overall passing game and the stronger-looking secondary. The bad? Red-zone inefficiency and an anemic run game that might have been better with Chris Ivory logging some carries. The ugly? No pass rush. Tell me you haven’t read that before, Jags fans. That’s my 10-cent breakdown of the game. Still believe in this team."
"23. Jacksonville Jaguars2016 record: 0-1Week 1 ranking: No. 19The Jaguars need to provide some relief for Blake Bortles, and 48 total rushing yards on 26 tries is not the answer. The Jags might get that relief in Week 2 against the Chargers, who have allowed the third-most yards per rush since the start of last season."
My take:
The Jaguars play a coin-flip game against the number 1 team in their power rankings, but ESPN decides to move the Jaguars down 4 spots? Inscrutable logic, but ESPN’s rankings usually make the least sense so it’s somewhat expected. It’s not shocking they have a different opinion from the rest of the power rankers.
I agree with the rest of the rankings for the most part (it makes sense that they all have the Jaguars at the same spot) and think it’s an appropriate response to the the close week 1 game. If the Jaguars had won, they’d likely be ranked in the teens and deservedly so. Unfortunately the Jaguars fell just short, but they deserve some credit for holding their own and almost pulling one out despite the otherworldly play of Aaron Rodgers.