Analysts argues Jaguars must attain elusive trait to find success in 2024

The Jacksonville Jaguars have improved considerably since head coach Doug Pederson became the head coach in 2022. That said, they've also experienced several ups and downs throughout his tenure. This has led Eric Edholm of NFL Media to believe that the Jags must achieve consistency next season if they want to get over the hump.

Ahead of the season opener, Edholm drew up a list of the biggest challenges each NFL team faces in 2024. Surprisingly, he didn't bring up any roster weakness for the Jaguars, pointing out instead that they must avoid wild swings in performances moving forward.

"Entering last season, the Jaguars were viewed as up-and-comers, much in the same vein as this year’s Texans. The Jags were on the rise, thanks to a 7-2 finish and two highly competitive playoff performances in the 2022 campaign. They mostly backed that hype up in 2023 by starting the season with an 8-3 mark. But that’s when everything fell apart, as they dropped five of six to fall from the playoff field.

So which team is this? That’s the roller-coaster reality staring Doug Pederson, Trevor Lawrence, and Josh Hines-Allen in the face. Jacksonville's offense and defense both must find ways to prevent such wild swings in performance from one month to the next."

After managing to win just 15 games from 2018-2021, the Jaguars made the playoffs and won the AFC South in 2022. However, there was a point in the season when it looked like they weren't going to accomplish much. Jacksonville was 3-7 following their Week 10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But something clicked, and they went on to win seven of their last eight games.

Once the Jags qualified for the playoffs, the Jags proceeded to mount one of the biggest comebacks in league history, erasing a 27-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30.

After an encouraging 2022, the Jaguars got off to an 8-3 start last year and were even in contention for the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC at one point. However, things quickly unraveled as injuries began to pile up. Jacksonville ended up winning just one of their last six games but could've still qualified for the playoffs if they had taken care of business against the Tennessee Titans in the finale. They lost and what once looked like a promising season was ultimately a massive disappointment.

The Jaguars have the pieces in place to achieve that elusive consistency in 2024

Following their underwhelming end to 2023, the Jacksonville Jaguars revamped the roster and the coaching staff. They brought in vested veterans such as defensive tackle Arik Armstead and center Mitch Morse to address key needs on both sides of the ball and hired Ryan Nielsen to oversee the defense. The changes the top brass made should no doubt help bounce back next season.

Another thing that will be beneficial for the Jaguars is that this will be head coach Doug Pederson's third year at the helm. Even though he's a proven winner who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in 2017, he joined a Jacksonville team with a different set of challenges. By now, he's fully acclimated and knows what works and what doesn't.

Last but not least, the Jags' franchise quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, is finally healthy and should pick up where he left off before he started to deal with a series of ailments in the second half of 2023. Add the fact that the front office added weapons to his arsenal and No. 16 is poised to have a breakout year.

While the Jaguars are flying under the radar ahead of the regular season, they're in a position to make noise in 2024. The pieces are there, it will be up to them to find that consistency they've been missing the past two years.

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