As recently as two years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were seen as a dark horse to make a Super Bowl appearance, and rightly so. They made it to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs in Doug Pederson's first season as the head coach, and Trevor Lawrence played like a top-10 quarterback in 2022.
Fast forward to 2025, and Pederson is gone while Lawrence has a bit to leave desired. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City are preparing themselves to play in Super Bowl 59.
As for the Jags, they'll be watching from home. If they ever want to appear on Championship Sunday, they need to take notes on some of the things Philly and the Chiefs have done in recent years.
So what exactly can Jacksonville learn from the Eagles' Super Bowl run and sustained success?
The Jaguars should not be afraid to make a splash signing
Back in 2022, the Eagles traded a first-round selection for wide receiver A.J. Brown. At the time, the move appeared to be costly, but they got ample bang for their buck, as he was one of the reasons they reached the Super Bowl that season.
Two years later, Philadelphia is back on the biggest stage, and once again, they made a massive move in the offseason that allowed them to get there. This time, it was running back Saquon Barkley.
A dynamic prospect coming out of college, Barkley went second overall to the New York Giants in the 2018 draft. He had an immediate impact, posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to start his NFL career. Unfortunately, injuries eventually hampered him, which led to questions about his viability as a game-changer.
After getting tagged in 2023, Barkley walked last year. The Giants thought he wasn't worth a top-market contract but the Eagles disagreed and gave him a three-year, $37.5 million deal. It immediately paid dividends, as their new running back went on to tally over 2,000 yards in 16 games.
Looking back, Giants general manager Joe Schoen surely regrets not keeping Barkley around. To make matters worse, he let him join a division foe and saw him make the Super Bowl. Nobody would blame him if he's hitting his head against the wall.
From the Eagles' side of things, though, they realized that they needed to help quarterback Jalen Hurts. While he's the heart and soul of their offense, he cannot win football games alone, so Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has surrounded him with as many weapons as possible.
The Eagles already had a pair of dynamic receivers in DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown but knew they needed a balanced approach if they wanted to avoid becoming one-dimensional. Enter Barkley, who turned their running attack into one of the best in the league.
Sure, Hurts is still an important part of the offense, but Barkley helps him by wearing defenses down. That's something the Jaguars need to keep in mind.
Fortunately, it looks like head coach Liam Coen will put a renewed emphasis on the running game. He got it going with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and should be able to do the same in Jacksonville with Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne.
Circling back to Saquon Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles identify him as an integral piece in their offensive puzzle. The Jacksonville Jaguars should try the same approach in free agency if they think there's a game-changer out there who can get them over the hump.