Jacksonville Jaguars: Talks of going 0-17 are premature

The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost two games in 2021 and could make it three in Week 3 when they take on the Arizona Cardinals at TIAA Bank Field. There’s no doubt the Jags need to work on certain areas but they’re far from being historically bad. That’s why talks about going 0-17 are extremely premature.

During a recent podcast, former NFL player Pat McAfee recently talked about Jaguars’ head coach Urban Meyer’s recent comments about facing Alabama every week. McAfee reminded everyone the NFL is significantly different from the collegiate ranks. He later pointed out that other coaches have tried to make the jump to the pros only to fall short. On the other hand, he hopes Meyer sticks around because “that would be pretty cool”.

One of McAfee’s cohosts wasn’t as optimistic though and suggested not only that Meyer might jump ship but that the Jaguars could go 0-17.

"It’s still early obviously and they have a lot of time to turn things around a little bit and improved but if they do, they are historically bad this year. Like if they go 0-16 or 0-17, I do have a tough time thinking that he’d be like, “okay, let’s do it again next year. He’s lost nine games in his coaching career in college, and then you turn around your first season in the NFL, you lose 17…"

There’s no way the Jacksonville Jaguars go 0-17 in 2021.

It’s true that the Jaguars have lost two games in the 2021 season but they aren’t the only team. The New York Jets, the Minnesota Vikings, the Indianapolis Colts, the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants, and the Detroit Lions are the other clubs that are currently 0-2 and nobody is talking about them finishing 0-17. Jacksonville’s offense is 26th in the league while their defense is ranked 29th. They’re not the worst team in the NFL right now and they aren’t historically dreadful either.

The Jags are in a development year and aren’t going to win many games. They certainly have their work cut off. They haven’t forced a turnover, quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s completion percent sits at 50 percent and the coaching staff hasn’t been able to get the running game going. Nobody will deny they have issues but saying they aren’t going to win any games in 2021 is the definition of a hot take.

Keep in mind that is extremely difficult to go winless in the NFL. In the league’s history, only two teams have achieved the infamous feat: the 2017 Cleveland Browns and the 2008 Detroit Lions. The Miami Dolphins started the 2007 season 0-14 but beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15, which helped them avoid going 0-17. The game went to overtime and the Phins acted as if they had won the Super Bowl while Deion Sanders, then an analyst at NFL Media, went on to wonder if, “I’m supposed to be excited because you won a game?”

Last season, the New York Jets started 0-13 but won back-to-back games in Weeks 15 and 16. The team knew that if they won, they wouldn’t be able to clinch the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, which ultimately went to the Jaguars. They didn’t care and fought as hard as they could in order to avoid going 0-16. Heck, it will now be more difficult to go winless since teams will now have 17 chances to earn a victory.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are bad, but not historically bad. They have had a few bright spots this season even if they haven’t been able to earn their first win of the season yet. As quarterback Trevor Lawrence recently said, they are close to getting that win. If they haven’t by Week 10, you can start talking about them going 0-17 but chances are they will have won a few games by then.