Trusted NFL voice discusses 2 biggest issues behind Jaguars' 2024 struggles

It's not an exaggeration to say that the Jacksonville Jaguars have been a disappointment this season. What's frustrating is that they seem like a potential playoff team on paper, but their on-field performance has left much to be desired. While there are many reasons behind their struggles, a trusted NFL voice talked about two of the most crucial ones.

The Black & Teal had a chance to talk to analyst Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy about a varied number of topics surrounding the Jags. Regarding their defensive struggles, he said in a previous conversation that he didn't think they would see a big improvement with Ryan Nielsen at the helm. However, he wouldn't have imagined they would be so bad.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to get this much worse," Schatz said of Nielsen. "They're okay against the run, but the past defense has just been terrible, just terrible."

Currently, Jacksonville's pass defense ranks dead last in the league with a Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average of 39.4 percent, and their 278.3 passing yards per game allowed are the most they've surrendered the past four years.

Traditional statistics don't paint a much better picture, as the Jags are 30th in the NFL in points surrendered and 32nd in yards allowed. The tape doesn't lie either. Execution or lack thereof is holding the defense back.

Things aren't much better on offense. While Trevor Lawrence has been far from perfect, he was playing much better in recent weeks before he suffered a shoulder sprain. Then again, it didn't matter much, because he wasn't getting much help from his supporting cast, according to Schatz.

"The offense, it's been a little bit below average. And the problem is that's just not what you expect from Trevor Lawrence. It's just you keep wanting to poke him with a stick and be like, become the Trevor Lawrence that we all thought you were," Schatz told the B&T.

Schatz continued, "I mean, there are certainly people out there who do adjusted quarterback ratings that are adjusted for things like drop passes and how much yards after the catcher receivers get, who feel that Trevor Lawrence is a lot better than his performance would otherwise indicate that he's still a pretty good quarterback, but he's not getting the help from anyone other than Brian Thomas."

"I mean, [Christian] Kirk is injured. He's out for the season. Now, Gabriel Davis is out for the season. Now, the running game hasn't been great, so Lawrence isn't really getting any help either."

During Lawrence's two-week absence, the offense managed to score a combined 13 points. However, the unit wasn't much better when he was healthy. Their 18.9 points per game is their lowest of the Doug Pederson era.

The Jaguars must fix their pass defense and rally behind Trevor Lawrence to finish strong

The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off their Bye, and Doug Pederson told the local media they made a few tweaks on both sides of the ball. He chose not to go into detail about the changes he made, but they'll have a chance to finish strong, even if they ultimately fail to qualify for the postseason.

On defense, the Jaguars will need to get more from young defensive tackles Jordan Jefferson and Maason Smith. The former has flashed against the run while the latter has struggled to hit his stride. They'll both need to do a better job of creating pressure inside in what's left of the season.

In the secondary, the coaching staff must give more playing time to Montaric Brown and keep veteran Ronald Darby on the sidelines. It would also help if Ventrell Miller and Foyesade Oluokun are the two starting linebackers in base packages moving forward.

On the other hand, the offense would get a massive boost if Trevor Lawrence returns against the Houston Texans in Week 13. The former Clemson Tiger resumed practicing Monday and could suit up for the divisional but based on how he performs in the upcoming days.

The bottom line is that things haven't gone the way the Jags expected but they still have the opportunity to make a few changes. It may not be enough to help them reach the postseason but it won't hurt their chances either.

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