5 things the Jaguars must do to win vs. Chargers in Wild Card Weekend

After a strong finish to the 2022 regular season, the Jacksonville Jaguars are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers in Super Wild Card. These teams already played in Week 3 and the Jags came on top.

However, the outcome of their last game won’t have a bearing on the upcoming one, which is why Jacksonville can’t take a win for granted. With that in mind, here are five keys to beating the Bolts and advancing to the divisional round of the 2022 playoffs.

5 things the Jaguars must do to win in Super Wild Card Weekend

1. Foyesade Oluokun must be on point defending Austin Ekeler

The Chargers’ offense has been without their top pass catchers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams for multiple stretches of this season. This has led to an increased involvement of Austin Ekeler in the passing game — even more than usual.

Ekeler averages nearly 100 yards per game and has over 100 receptions over the season. Oluokun will need to use his sideline-to-sideline speed to ensure Ekeler doesn’t rack up yards after the catch. The fact that Williams has already been ruled out for the game should help.

2. Doug Pederson has to establish the run game

We all saw the Jags’ offense last week versus Tennessee. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. This week the offense will have to be a thing of beauty to ensure victory. That starts with getting the run game on track.

Ensuring success via the run will allow Trevor Lawrence to execute more creative play calls and for the play-action game to become lethal. Against a weak Chargers’ run defense, this should be easily accomplished.

3. The Jaguars must keep Keenan Allen in check

With Williams out with a back injury, the top target for Justin Herbert will undoubtedly be Keenan Allen. While he does play outside occasionally, Allen does most of his work from the slot. Jags’ slot corner Tre Herndon has struggled at times this year as evidenced by his 57.2 Pro Football Focus coverage grade. Assuming Herndon can prevent Allen from having a 100-yard game, Jacksonville should be in good shape.

4. Trevor Lawrence must limit turnovers

This Saturday’s primetime matchup features two quarterbacks on the rise — Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert. In what might come down to a quarterback duel, Lawrence must protect the ball and make smart decisions at all costs.

The last thing Jacksonville needs is for Herbert and the Chargers’ offense to get extra opportunities to score. Lawrence only has two interceptions in the last nine weeks. Hopefully, that stat remains the same through ten.

5. Play with heart and the underdog mentality

It’s considered borderline disrespectful that the Chargers are 2.5-point favorites in this matchup. Back in Week 3, Jacksonville completely dismantled Los Angeles 38-10 at SoFi. That was before the Jags had come into form. Doug Pederson should use this point to motivate his team to give them a mental edge.

Accomplish three or four of the points on this list and the Jags will make it to the divisional, guaranteed.