Going into Week 4 of the 2025 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled a bit, but they're in a decent position. Currently, the Jaguars are 2-1, and sitting at second in the AFC South, just behind the newly resurgent Indianapolis Colts.
While it hasn't always made for pleasant viewing, this is a great sign for the rest of the season. Yes, there are some growing pains, which is to be expected with an entirely new staff - a new general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator. And most importantly, even as the team adjusts to essentially starting over from scratch, with little time to really figure out how to gel, they're still winning. That gives a lot of optimism for how the rest of the season could look as the team comes together.
Week 3 was a huge test for the Jaguars, as they took on one of their fiercest divisional rivals: the Houston Texans. Though Houston has since imploded, going into the 2025 season, the assumption was that the Texans would easily win the AFC South again, for the third year in a row. Suffice it to say, that put a lot on the Jaguars when it comes to pressure to win; not only were the Jaguars fighting to keep up with the Colts, who are currently 3-0, but they wanted to send a strong message by toppling the reigning division champion. And while it wasn't an easy win, the Jags took home the dub regardless.
The Jaguars get a good grade, despite a nasty win
John Breech graded each match-up for Week 3, and while the Texans got a sobering C-, the Jaguars were awarded a B-. For Houston, he noted that it is almost entirely on the offense that this team is struggling, and have a lot of issues to work out. And while the Jaguars are far from perfect, they're getting better each week.
"The Jaguars defense struggled last week against the Bengals, but the unit bounced back with a strong game against the Texans. Jourdan Lewis and Antonio Johnson both picked off Stroud in the fourth quarter to help Jacksonville hold on for a wild win. Tyson Campbell also forced a Nico Collins fumble that set up the Jags' game-winning touchdown. The offense is slowly improving under Liam Coen, and with the defense playing like this, the Jaguars could be a threat to win quite a few games they're not expected to win this year. "John Breech
There were plenty of cringe-worthy moments during the Jaguars-Texans game, and it even looked for a moment as if Houston might snatch up a last-minute victory. Fortunately, that didn't happen, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence credited the team's grittiness, and refusal to give up, for the win.
"I think a lot of things have changed," he said. "Like I said today, I think just the grittiness of our team, being able to find a way to finish the game. Toughness showed up. That's a really good team. Houston's a really good team, really good defense. They're physical. We knew it was going to be a challenge for us, and we never backed down from it. Like I said, it didn't always go our way, but we kept coming back and getting our opportunities. We finally hit the ones that matter."
There are still a lot of issues Jacksonville needs to iron out; Lawrence hasn't quite worked out the chemistry with his receivers, and Travis Hunter isn't making much of an impact on either side of the ball yet. But as Lawrence said, the team is finding a way to win games, even when everything is going wrong - and that is something to be excited about.