Year 1 of the Liam Coen era has been a resounding success. In his first season at the helm, he's turned the Jacksonville Jaguars into a legitimate contender. Moreover, he has Trevor Lawrence playing at a top-5 level, while the defense has become a strength.
Simply put, the Jags have become a well-oiled machine under Coen. Not surprisingly, analysts across the league have begun to buy into the hype. However, not everyone is impressed. Some critics still aren't sure whether they're a legit contender. Danny Parkins of ESPN, in particular, believes they're a flawed playoff team.
Danny Parkins believes the Jaguars are a flawed contender because of Trevor Lawrence
Danny Parkins talked about the most vulnerable playoff teams during a roundtable at ESPN. He argues that he isn't sold on the Jags, noting that Trevor Lawrence has one of the worst passer ratings among quarterbacks dating back to Week 5.
"As we look at the vulnerable contenders, the Jacksonville Jaguars," Parkins said. "I know I'm not very popular in Duval nation right now for some of the things that I've been saying. Trevor Lawrence just had the worst passer rating game against the Colts since Geno Smith in Week 5. He was not good. I've seen him go on hot stretches before."
Parkins continued, "I believe he went on a hot stretch the previous six weeks before that game against the Colts. I know the winning streak is there, but I just do not trust Trevor Lawrence. We'll see if I'm right come playoff time."
There's no doubt that Lawrence struggled early in the season, and his showing against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 wasn't the best one. Then again, it wasn't outright dreadful. He completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 263 yards with one interception for a QB rating of 72.2, but also scored two rushing touchdowns.
But even when you take his performance in Week 17 into account, Lawrence has demonstrated notable improvement since the BYE. Since then, he's completed 61.5 percent of his throws for 1,869 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. Simply put, you cannot cherry-pick stats and say that No. 16 is a liability because he had a solid, not great outing.
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Trevor Lawrence makes the Jaguars a team to watch in the playoffs
If you spend the whole day shuffling words around, you can make anything sound horrible. And by only focusing on Trevor Lawrence's passer rating in one game while ignoring his whole body of work, Danny Parkins is downplaying his late-season surge. For instance, No. 16 has thrown just one interception since the win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11, and his nine rushing touchdowns are tied with rookie Jaxson Dart for the second most among quarterbacks this season.
Moreover, Lawrence has done a great job getting the ball to his receivers. But even if he were struggling (he's not), the Jaguars would have enough talenton both offense and defense to win football games. Running back Travis Etienne is having a bounce-back season and is proving that he can put the team onhis shoulders. On the other hand, the defense is stymying opponents and creating turnovers at a high rate.
When you add it all up, the Jaguars are playing well enough to make you think they could make a deep playoff run. Sure, they have question marks, but that's pretty much true for every contender. So regardless of what anyone says, they should feel good about their chances going into the postseason.