Jaguars remain steady in power rankings following Bye Week

Before their Bye Week, the Jacksonville Jaguars were near the cellar of most power rankings and things haven’t changed much ahead of their matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. The Jags remain steady or even moved down in most power rankings even though they didn’t play in Week 11.

Dan Hanzus of NFL Media placed Jacksonville at No.29, one spot below last week. Since they were in their Bye, Hanzus instead highlighted the impact wide receiver Christian Kirk has had with the Jags this season. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports kept them at No. 28 and says they’re “just trying to build for next season” and must get better production out of their pass rush.

Surprisingly, Bleacher Report ranked the Jaguars at No. 24. The B/R staff points out that they’re having another rough year in terms of wins and losses and note that this year was always about developing Trevor Lawrence and building the foundation for long-term success.

"But the 2022 season wasn’t really about wins and losses for the Jaguars. Or contending for a playoff spot.  After the disaster that was Urban Meyer’s tenure as head coach, the first season under Doud Pederson was about building a culture. Learning how to compete on a weekly basis. Developing quarterback Trevor Lawrence. And if Week 10’s loss in Kansas City is any indication, progress is being made in that respect."

A handful of analysts predicted the Jags would go 8-9 or better based on their potential (guilty as charged) in 2022 but most had them around the 6-10 range. But they all agreed the Jags needed to build around Lawrence and they’ve succeeded on that front. Although the former Clemson Tiger has made head-scratching mistakes and wasn’t consistent early in the season, he’s made also taken several steps in the right direction.

In the two games before the Bye, Lawrence completed 76 percent of his passes for 494 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He still has room for improvement but he’s also trending in the right direction. In fact, it doesn’t seem like the Jaguars will need to worry about the quarterback position in the foreseeable future.

There have been bright spots in the Jaguars’ 2022 season

The Jaguars’ 3-7 record is mostly due to self-inflicted wounds and their inability to play complementary football. On any given week, the offense will show out only for the defense to let them down. Conversely, the defense will keep opponents in check but the offense will fail to score. Having said that, not everything has been doom and gloom for Jacksonville this season.

Signing wide receiver Christian Kirk in free agency has turned out to be a wise investment and running back Travis Etienne is proving the Jaguars made the right decision when they drafted him 25th overall last year. On the other hand, cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco have become important pieces in the secondary.

The Jaguars will have the chance to finish the 2022 season strong and although their record isn’t something to brag about, they’ve made enough strides to make you think they will have a legitimate chance to compete for a playoff spot next year.