Through 10 weeks (11 if you count the Bye) of the 2022 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have shown that they are not the same team they were the past three or four years. For starters, the coaching staff has proven to be competent at the very least.
Also, the Jags’ talent level is sufficient enough to have kept them within striking distance in almost every game this season. Although there’s still work to be done, their depth is much better than it was last year.
And most of all, the quarterback play has been one of the more promising situations in the league. Trevor Lawrence has certainly shown vast improvement as far as his pocket presence, accuracy, confidence, and overall understanding of the game.
The Jaguars are far from a finished product, can finish 2022 strong
However, as much as the Jaguars have improved compared to seasons past, they are still 3-7, good enough for third place in the AFC South. It’s not exactly a situation most fans would like to see their team be in. Looking at the record at face value, it would seem that Jacksonville has only made minimal strides in their attempt to be a winning franchise again.
But if you look closer, you’ll see that they are tantalizingly close to being not just a winning team, but a playoff contender with the intangibles most teams and fan bases dream of.
Below, you will find three adjustments that the Jaguars need to make to finally push themselves over the curve and into the stratosphere of being a consistently winning NFL franchise again.
3. The Jaguars must finish offensive drives
In every loss the Jaguars have experienced this season, they have at least been within striking distance of a victory relatively late in the game. The offense has displayed the ability to consistently move the ball but has also shown that they are still struggling to finish drives.
Ahead of Week 12, the Jags rank eight in yards per game (362.2 YPG) but are just 19th in red-zone scoring (54.05 percent) and 19th in points per game at 21.6 PPG. Their offense has without doubt shown that it has improved from last season, but they need to find the missing puzzle piece when it comes to finishing drives and scoring in the red zone.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receiver Christian Kirk, running back Travis Etienne, and co. have undoubtedly shown that they can move the ball against the best of them, but they need to develop more chemistry and consistency if they expect to walk away with more victories.
Kirk, for one, told the local media he believes that the Jaguars are extremely close to becoming the offense that Doug Peterson and the offensive staff have envisioned.
“Looking back on stuff that we’ve done earlier in the year to where we are, you look how far we’ve progressed, Kirk said. “Maybe we haven’t won as many games as we have wanted to, but we are getting better”.
“I can confidently say that we are getting better and it’s so close. We just got to keep working. But I know offensively, we’re a talented group. We have the right guys in that room, so we’re just going to keep on getting better and keep on making plays”, Kirk explained.
2. The Jaguars must improve their communication on defense
The Jaguars’ defense has also been frustratingly inconsistent this season. They have proven that they can create turnovers but haven’t consistently stymied opposing offenses. They rank sixth in the league with 14 turnovers but have allowed too many momentum-killing touchdowns when the game is on the line and it matters most.
Against Kansas City in Week 10 for example, the defense had too many blown coverages. Wide receiver Kadarius Toney took advantage of one of these missed assignments and wreaked havoc on the Jags’ secondary by waltzing into the end zone without a Jaguars defender anywhere close to him. The communication and consistency simply need to be much better if the Jaguars intend to finish any of these close games with a victory.
Safety Rayshawn Jenkins is aware of Jacksonville’s defensive issues, “we could definitely tighten the screws a bit”, and believes that consistency is the key to fixing them.
“We need to fix just being more consistent, Jenkins said. “The consistency is not there. As a unit, we make a lot of good plays, and you see a lot of flashes throughout most of the game, but it’s when we get in those times that we really need everyone to really be on their stuff. We need to everyone needs to be conscious of that moment there.”
The Jags will next play the Baltimore Ravens and their defense will need to be consistent if they want to slow down quarterback Lamar Jackson.
1. The Jaguars must take advantage of the momentum swings
As mentioned earlier, the Jaguars have shown the propensity to create turnovers by showing flashes of defensive brilliance and athleticism. But if the Jaguars expect to become a winning franchise, they need to take advantage of these rare opportunities and ride the momentum.
There have been far too many instances where Jacksonville forced a three-and-out or a turnover and then simply go three-and-out themselves or drive the ball down the field only to be halted in the red zone.
Momentum is the lifeblood of football. Teams can come back from seemingly lost games to win in the end simply by taking advantage of a momentum shift. It has become a regularity to see the Jaguars produce a turnover or run down the field in only seconds with spectacularly big plays on offense only to see the team give the ball right back or not produce any points to show for it.
When a shift in momentum occurs for the Jaguars, they need to learn how to put their foot on the opposing team’s throat, so to speak. This style of play only comes when teams have the confidence, familiarity, communication, and experience required to strike fear and opposing teams and consistently win games.