Jaguars find themselves at crossroads following loss to Broncos

After a 2-1 promising start to the 2022 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have dropped five straight games. Fans are rightfully asking what has gone wrong and why they haven’t been able to win close games. The truth is that the Jags might not have an answer to those questions, and it’s fair to wonder if their season is already over with nine games left to go.

To finish with a winning record, the Jaguars would need to go 7-2, which is highly unlikely when you take consider that they haven’t managed to win close games. Although they had a lead entering the third quarter of their Week 8 matchup against the Denver Broncos, they couldn’t hold onto it and ended up losing the game. Of course, it wasn’t just the defense that let the team down.

Trevor Lawrence had the chance to pull off a comeback but he throw an interception with the game on the line. Does this sound familiar? This isn’t the first time the former Clemson Tiger has had the chance to come back and win the game. He had an opportunity against the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Houston Texans, and the New York Giants. And all those times, he and the offense fell short. It wasn’t any different against the Broncos.

Even though it’s too early to give up on Lawrence, you can’t keep talking about his upside. At some point, he must deliver and it hasn’t happened yet. Sure, he’s made strides but not nearly enough to win games.

The Jaguars are having growing pains under Doug Pederson

In his defense, Lawrence isn’t the sole reason the Jaguars have lost six games this season but if everything around him must be perfect for him to succeed, maybe he’s not the answer at quarterback. He might very well turn out to be a franchise cornerstone but he hasn’t shown anything yet that makes you believe he will.

Lawrence has definitely the traits to become a top quarterback but as long as he makes making puzzling mistakes when it matters, the Jaguars will keep losing games. Again, it’s too early to pull the plug on him, and don’t even start talking about benching him but the Jags will need to adjust their expectations moving forward.

Maybe the coaching staff should give more playing time to their younger players, why not give Walker Little a chance to show what he can do at right tackle? Rookie linebacker Chad Muma could also benefit from an uptick in playing time.

Head coach Doug Pederson said before the start of the season that it was going to take more than one year to turn things around, and he’s right. Progress takes time and you shouldn’t get the pitchforks out just yet but he shouldn’t get a pass either.

Sure, the Jaguars have been bad for a while but Pederson is starting from scratch and in the seven games he’s been at the helm, the Jags haven’t shown anything to make you think they will turn the corner this season.

It’s possible that the Jaguars will indeed turn things around in the upcoming weeks but moving forward, fans should strongly consider taking an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it approach’. After all, well-run football teams aren’t different from well-run companies. Those that are successful will show you results while the bad ones will try to sell you on potential and the promise of a better future, guess which category the Jags fall into?