Jacksonville Jaguars Week 16 Power Rankings: Disappointing
By Daniel Lago
Despite their loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars still have one more week to torture fans as they are not completely eliminated from the AFC South race yet. Hosting a fading Atlanta Falcons squad last Sunday, the Jaguars crapped the bed and failed to capitalize against a team they outplayed. For yet another week, the Jaguars were the cure for what ailed a team on a losing streak.
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As a longtime fan, I’m overly critical of the Jaguars, but last week’s performance has to be one of the more disappointing outcomes in the last 3 years. The Jaguars were finally playing meaningful football in December and they had an opportunity in front of them to inch closer to a division title, but they laid down and let the Atlanta Falcons rekindle their spark.
Here’s where the Jaguars fell in some of the power rankings around the web after blowing another winnable game against a bad team:
"25. Jacksonville JaguarsSunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons was pretty much the perfect encapsulation of the 2015 Jacksonville Jaguars. They face a reeling team, broken and coming off a humiliating defeat one week prior, and fall flat at EverBank Field in front of their fans.What’s saddest for Jacksonville is this is the second game in three weeks that the team should’ve won. Look back to Week 13, and it was the same thing. The Jags should have beaten the Titans that week, and if they could’ve closed both tightly fought games out they’d be atop the lowly AFC South alongside the Houston Texans.After two solid games on offense, the Jaguars came back to Earth on Sunday. Really, having no T.J. Yeldon crippled Jacksonville. Any game where Blake Bortles is the leading rusher (6 carries for 44 yards!) that’s a contest where defeat is imminent. For the record, Denard Robinson ran 14 times for 28 yards. A high spot for the offense comes in the form of Allen Robinson, who caught another touchdown; he’s tied atop the league with 13 receiving touchdowns.The Jaguars next travel to New Orleans to try and pick up the pieces. High side: they’ve shown promise, and are a year or two away from being in the hunt for the AFC South on a consistent basis. Low side: they just blew another chance to backdoor into the playoffs this year."
"26. Jaguars (5-9) HIGH: 21 / LOW: 32The Jaguars have likely found their franchise quarterback in Blake Bortles, but his second-quarter interception resulted in a 10-point swing that proved costly in Week 15."
"20. Jaguars The Jaguars lost on Sunday, but Allen Robinson nabbed his 13th touchdown reception, tied for the league lead. No Jaguar has ever led the league in receiving touchdowns."
"26. JaguarsThey still aren’t good enough, and their playoff hopes are basically done. But they have money to spend to fix the defense, and they will spend it."
"23. JaguarsI know their AFC South chances weren’t great even with a win. But to come out and play like that, and lose to a Falcons team that hadn’t played well in more than two months, doesn’t give you a lot of confidence moving forward. It’s a young team and consistency will be an issue when that’s the case. Still, that was a bad loss."
"24. JaguarsEvery time Blake Bortles appears as though he is taking the next step as a quarterback, a sequence like that seen at the end of the first half Sunday comes to pass. Pass is precisely what Bortles did, not to an open Marcedes Lewis, but right into the hands of Kemal Ishmael. To his credit, the Jags quarterback made the touchdown-saving tackle. Unfortunately, what could’ve been 14-10, Atlanta, became 17-3, Atlanta. Bortles’ 14 picks in 539 pass attempts could hardly be construed as a sign of careless play, but not sure any QB has thrown as many soul-crushing interceptions. They seem to come at the worst times. #Bortleing"
Next: Jags v. Falcons prediction recap
My take:
Even though I think he has them ranked too high, I agree completely with Frank Schwab’s assessment. The way the Jaguars played on Sunday wasn’t surprising if you’ve followed the team this year, but it was still a downer. There were definitely some issues with players executing, but you have to start with the coaching and make Gus Bradley and his staff accountable. They have 2 more games to try and finish strong before facing some hardcore scrutiny from the fanbase in the offseason.
My ranking for the Jaguars after week 15: 28