Jaguars return to familar spot in power rankings following loss to Colts

By an inch or a mile, winning is the bottom line in the NFL, and the Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t managed to come out on top much this season. Sure, the Jags are just one victory away from tying last year’s totals and most of their losses have been close but would you rather win ugly or lose pretty? So how do they stack up against the rest of the league? The answer is not too well.

Right after beating the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, Jacksonville moved up to the top half of most power rankings and the top 10 in some cases. But then, the losses started to pile up and they currently find themselves near the bottom of the league, where they spent a robust amount of time since 2018.

Dan Hanzus of NFL Media has been tough on the Jags this season and placed them at No. 27. But he’s not the only one that gave them a low spot following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports, who has often ranked them favorably, has them at No. 28. Coincidentally, Prisco and Hanzus both think Jacksonville has lost winnable games. Here’s what the latter had to say.

"The Jaguars couldn’t make the big stop to finish the Colts, the end result a 34-27 loss that Jacksonville could ill afford after dropping its previous two games. An absentee pass rush played a major role. The Colts were forced into a pass-happy approach with their top two running backs injured and inactive, but the Jags couldn’t manage a single sack against the statue-like Matt Ryan despite the veteran throwing 58 passes."

The highest you will find the Jaguars heading into Week 7 is No. 21 in Bleacher Report’s rankings, and even that is considerably low. Just like other writers, the B/R NFL staff says that it seemed like Jacksonville was turning the corner after winning games in back-to-back games but they now have “dropped three in a row“.

The Jaguars have the talent but they must put it all together to win

In a sport where the ultimate goal is to raise the Lombardi Trophy in February and have so much hardware that you aren’t able to turn doorknobs, you are what you’re record says you are, and the Jaguars don’t have enough wins to justify keeping them at the top half of power rankings.

The potential is there but as long as they continue to lose close games, Jacksonville will remain in the cellar of the league. Having said that, the NFL team is always fluid, and teams can heat up in November and make a playoff push.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is improving quickly and so is cornerback Tyson Campell on the defensive side of the ball. Travis Etienne is showcasing the big-play potential that made him a first-round pick in last year’s draft and most team’s free-agent acquisitions have panned out.

If Lawrence can keep making good decisions with the football the defense can start racking up turnovers at a high rate, and they avoid inflicting self-inflicting wounds, Jacksonville can climb back to the top half of the league.