The Jacksonville Jaguars get little to no respect from the national media and are a punching bag around the league. This isn’t an opinion but a fact that you can easily check if you take a look at the amount of coverage they get from the biggest outlets in the business. This is a shame because the Jags have a passionate and loyal fanbase, one that is willing to stand up for the team they root for even though it has hardly brought them joy since the first game they played back on September 3, 1995.
Having said that, there is no inherent bias from the national media and there are instead many reasonable reasons why other teams, such as the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Dallas Cowboys, get preferential treatment. Here are the main four.
Reason No. 4 the Jaguars get no respect: They’re a relatively young team
This is a simple one. The Jaguars have existed for less than 30 years while other NFL franchises were founded before TV was even invented! The Chicago Bears (then the Decatur Staleys) and the Arizona (not Phoenix) Cardinals have been around since the inception of the NFL (then APFA) back in 1920. Thus, both clubs have had plenty of time to garner a pretty robust fanbase.
The Carolina Panthers, a team the same as the Jaguars, don’t get much national coverage either, and the Houston Texans, the youngest team in the NFL, are in the news these days mostly because of the Deshaun Watson debacle. Older clubs have played more games and therefore have had more exposure than the Jags. But that’s far from the only reason.
Reason No. 3 the Jaguars get no respect: They play in a small market
This one is straightforward and is somewhat connected to reason No. 5. Most Jaguars fans reside in Jacksonville and there isn’t much interest in watching them play them outside of Florida. Sure, there are fans spread around the U.S and you will see a few show up at Lambeau Field whenever they play in Green Bay or at Highmark Stadium whenever they face off against the Buffalo Bills.
Having said that, the market for Jaguars games outside of Florida isn’t big. Sure, they fill up Wembley Stadium (or Tottenham Hotspur) whenever they play in England but that’s only because there’s one matchup per year. It’s hard to tell if they would be able to sell out if eight or nine games took place every year.
Meanwhile, teams like the Dallas Cowboys, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the New England Patriots have a firm stronghold on the international market. Take a trip to Brazil, Mexico, Spain, or any other country you can think of, and you will see people wearing Pats gear. Heck, teams you don’t think would have a big following do. For example, the Miami Dolphins have a very loyal fanbase in South America.
If you look at all those teams, they have something in common. They’ve been around for a while, well before the Jaguars’ inaugural season back in 1995, so they have had time to hoard fans. With technology now making Jaguars’ games available, it’s possible that they will garner more interest outside the U.S. Then again, there’s the next item on the list.
Reason No. 2 the Jaguars get no respect: They don’t have superstars
Quick, name the three best players in franchise history. Who are they? Here’s an educated guess of who you most likely picked.
- Jimmy Smith, WR
- Tony Boselli, LT
- Fred Taylor, LT
The order might have changed and some of you might have thought of quarterback Mark Brunell. Also, you probably noticed a pattern. It’s been a while since any of them stepped on the football field and there are no current players on the list. After many attempts, Boselli was finally (and deservedly) inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Smith should eventually make it and the same is true for Taylor but what other Jaguar is deserving of a gold jacket?
Running back Maurice Jones-Drew was very good but hardly Hall-of-Fame material. Calais Campbell was arguably the heart and soul of the Sacksonville defense but would you place him in the same category as J.J. Watt, Von Miller, or Aaron Donald?
The truth is that the Jaguars haven’t been good at identifying talent for a while, and while Trevor Lawrence might turn out to become a franchise quarterback, and even elite, it’s too early to crown him. Outside linebacker Josh Allen could also get there but needs to be more consistent. Myles Jack was a mainstay of the defense during his tenure in Jacksonville and Brandon Linder was also a pretty good center but neither one was a star at a national level.
If you have a hard time thinking of a Jaguar that has enjoyed national exposure it’s because there aren’t many. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey did for a bit but he was then traded to the Los Angeles Rams, where he’s gone on to enjoy a fruitful career. And as long as the Jaguars don’t get talented players, the kind you would file under the ‘face of the franchise’ category, they won’t get the spotlight often. Speaking of…
Reason No. 1 the Jaguars get no respect: They don’t win enough
When it comes to the NFL, you have probably heard that winning cures everything, and this is legitimately true. Winning games will mask whatever issues the team is undergoing but start losing and all the skeletons will come out of the closet. Think of the 2017 season, the Jags made it all the way to the AFC Champions but once they could no longer sustain a high level of success, reports of the Tom Coughlin debacle surfaced.
Speaking of the 2017 season, that’s the only time since 2010 that they managed to win more than six games in a year. No club is going to earn primetime games if they aren’t consistently winning, and why would they? Nobody wants to tune in a blowout on Monday Night Football.
Some Jaguars fans weren’t pleased the team only got one primetime game following their appearance in the AFC Championship but looking at how their 5-11 record in 2018, the NFL got it right, at least this time. Sure, the Jags will pull off an upset every now and then. Their matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 of the 2021 season was must-watch TV but that kind of performances are few and far between.
On the bright side, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, as the Jaguars have a promising young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and an outstanding head coach in Doug Pederson. Both have the potential to right the ship and turn the Jags into a perennial playoff team. If they do, the national media will have no choice but to give them the spotlight.