Jacksonville Jaguars had 20th best special teams unit according to Pro Football Focus
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars had an great defense in 2017 and their offense actually finished with a high ranking as well, but the special teams was mediocre.
If there’s one word to describe the terrific 2017 season the Jacksonville Jaguars had it’s this – defense.
The Jaguars defense went from pretty good to historically great in 2017, particularly the pass defense. The additions of All Pros Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye to an already talented defense took them over the top and it propelled the team to a division title and minutes from the Super Bowl.
That being said, there was a lot more to this iteration of the Jacksonville Jaguars than just the defense. Offensively, it’s hard not to think the Jaguars overachieved. They finished ranked 6th in total offense (365.9 yards per game) and 5th in points per game (26.1). That’s amazing considering the team ran a fairly predictable offense for most of the year with a huge emphasis on running the ball.
The offense and the defense were unquestionably impressive, but the third facet of the game was not.
The Jaguars special teams was mediocre for most of the year, but it did improve a fair bit when they cut maligned kicker Jason Myers and signed Josh Lambo.
Pro Football Focus ranked all the special teams units in the NFL based on their performance in 2017, and the Jacksonville Jaguars finished just below average.
"20.Previous ranking: 23After replacing the ineffective Jason Myers six games into the season, Josh Lambo was a revelation. He missed only three kicks all year, and no field goals after Week 11. His effort against New England in the AFC Championship game was spoiled only by the bad field position Jacksonville’s offense had to deal with what was seemingly the entire second half."
Lambo earned the right to come back in 2018, but the rest of the special teams needs to be better.
Brad Nortmann had a few great games but he was entirely too inconsistent to warrant another contract.
In the return game, Jaydon Mickens flashed brilliance but lost the confidence of the coaching staff at the end of the year by mishandling some punts.
The Jaguars need to shore up the special teams in 2018 to better their chances of making it back to the conference title game.