At the beginning of the season, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen wasn't at his best. He wasn't dreadful but wasn't a game-changer either, and it looked as if the two-time Pro Bowl nod was going to end up another disappointment, like Brian Thomas, Jr. on the offense.
The situation was even worse, considering that Hines-Allen is one of the highest-paid pass rushers in the NFL. Yet just when it seemed everyone was going to give up on him, Hines-Allen somehow managed to put it all together and has been utterly dominant lately.
To put it plainly, Hines-Allen has had a massive late-season surge, with head coach Liam Coen saying breaking the franchise sack record took away some of the pressure he had been feeling, and gave him more freedom. Whatever happened, it clearly worked, and it's become undeniable just how good he has become.
Josh Hines-Allen’s surge is powering the Jaguars’ defensive dominance
In the past several weeks, Hines-Allen has become a league-leader in multiple measures, surpassing even Myles Garrett in quarterback pressures. And as Hines-Allen has improved, so has the entire defense.
But let's be clear: Hines-Allen hasn't just improved. He has been on fire, as Pro Football Focus pointed out. Every single quarterback that has come against him lately has been under constant pressure, literally and figuratively.
Per PFF, where #Jaguars DE Josh Hines-Allen ranks in NFL since bye week
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) December 2, 2025
Sacks: No. 3-t
Pressures: No. 2
Win-Rate: No. 3
True Pass Set Pressures: No. 1
True Pass Set Win-Rate: No. 3
TPS = no RPO, play-action, or screens.
And this resurgence is coming at the best possible time. The Jaguars are coming into a critical point of the season; currently, they're on top of the AFC South, but they still have several divisional matchups ahead. Most critically, the Jaguars are set to play the Indianapolis Colts in their next game.
Why does this matter so much? Well, both the Jaguars and the Colts are tied with an 8-4 record, with the Jaguars eking out the lead for now. Whoever wins will pull ahead, obviously, and put a little more space between their record and that of the Houston Texans.
Furthermore, the Colts have a pretty big problem themselves: quarterback Daniel Jones is literally playing with a fractured leg. His mobility has, understandably, been affected, and that is happening at the exact same time Hines-Allen is flourishing.
That's an exciting prospect for Jaguars fans; Hines-Allen is putting heavy pressure on opposing quarterbacks, league-high levels of it at that, and one of their biggest rivals is about to go against him with a quarterback who has a broken leg. Daniel Jones has good reason to be scared, and Jacksonville has reason to be excited.