After a disastrous loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars have entered a downward spiral, approaching the bottom of the NFL. From the team owner as angry as he’s ever been, the team plane having mechanical issues as they’re trying to get out of Buffalo, to the Jaguars being embarrassed on national television, the Jaguars 47-10 week three loss to Buffalo has sent the Jaguars into a downward spiral that could completely derail their season.
The Downward Spiral of the Jacksonville Jaguars
In 2023, the Jaguars got off to a good start with a win over the Indianapolis Colts. However, they dropped their next two against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, the better teams from 2023. After that rocky start, the Jaguars went on to win five in a row to set themselves up to win the division. Out of the bye, the Jaguars lost one of the worst games of Trevor Lawrence‘s career, getting thumped by the San Francisco 49ers at home. Putting that bad loss behind them, the Jaguars won their next two, one against the Texans, to get to eight and three.
Ever since that strong first half of 2023, since their November 26th victory over the Texans in Houston, the Jaguars have only won one game. It’s been slowly developing into what Jaguars fans saw Monday night against the Bills. A steady decline stemmed from the coaches, the front office, and the players. The Dolphins also have major questions with their season going forward, but their starting quarterback is injured. The Jaguars on the other hand are just playing very poorly. How did the Jaguars enter such a disastrous downward spiral?
Who Is Responsible For the Jaguars’ Downward Spiral?
Both the offense and defense deserve blame for the Jaguars’ early season collapse. But the most disappointing, and frustrating of the two is the offense led by Doug Pederson and Press Taylor.
Jaguars Offensive Struggles
One of the most frustrating parts of this Jaguars collapse is the talent present on the roster. Christian Kirk, Gabriel Davis, Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Etienne Jr., and Evan Engram make up a solid group of offensive weapons. However, with Engram injured, Kirk and Davis playing below expectations, and Etienne coughing up the football in week one with a chance to win, the Jaguars’ skill group has been severely lacking in 2024. There was so much optimism with the Jaguars going into 2024, especially with the offense.
Another major factor is how much Lawrence has struggled this season. At some point, he can’t be excused for the mistakes he is making. The interception to Damar Hamlin was one of the worst throws of Lawrence’s career. Missing open targets down the field is a recipe for disaster. Lawrence is only part of the offense’s problems, as overall, the offense is struggling through three weeks.
The offense’s inconsistency is a huge reason why the Jaguars have entered a downward spiral so early in the season. A lack of urgency is plaguing the Jaguars, with the offense struggling to get any good drives going against the Bills. The Jaguars only scored ten points, and the touchdown drive was the first possession of the second half, and yet it was already garbage time. Frustration over the play calling is just one of many issues, but the players on offense are also playing well below where they were expected to.
According to PFF, the Jaguars offensive line surrendered four sacks on 24 pressures. Every offensive lineman that came into the game against the Bills, except for Cooper Hodges who only had one snap, allowed at least two pressures. In week two, it was Anton Harrison. Week three saw Cam Robinson be the cog of the offensive line that didn’t protect Lawrence. He allowed eight pressures, three hits, three hurries, and two sacks. Etienne struggled as a pass protector in the backfield, allowing three pressures and one sack. In only 14 snaps, Walker Little filling in for the injured Harrison gave up one sack and two pressures. Overall, it was an incredibly disappointing performance from the offensive line.
Between the struggling offensive skill position players, the offensive line barely protecting Lawrence, and Lawrence playing some of the worst football of his life, the Jaguars offense is a complete mess. Compounded by the play calling, the Jaguars offense has been one of the worst in the NFL through three weeks. Things have gotten so dire, that owner Shad Khan was “angrier than I have ever seen” from a source close to Khan according to Demetrius Harvey. Everything that has happened to Jacksonville since November 2023 has been part of a downward spiral, and the defense contributions haven’t even been discussed yet.
Jaguars Defensive Struggles
New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has gotten off to a rocky start, after allowing the Miami Dolphins to come back in week one and allowing the Cleveland Browns struggling offense to beat them in week two. In week three, the Jaguars’ defense completely imploded, allowing Josh Allen and the Bills to easily drive down the field in the first half. The Bills first five drives resulted in touchdowns. Nielsen’s defense didn’t get a stop defensively until the fourth quarter when the game was already over. That would be the only stop of the game for the Jaguars’ defense, as the Bills scored a field goal in the third quarter, and on their final two drives with the backups in scored another field goal and touchdown.
Jacksonville has the eighth-worst defensive grade according to PFF, which makes sense considering how underwhelming the defense has been as a whole. There are only a few players who don’t deserve much of any blame for how poorly the defense has performed through three weeks. Josh Hines-Allen is the Jaguars’ best player on defense, and Foyesade Oluokun has continued to be one of the better linebackers in the NFL. They can’t beat teams on their own, and with Nielsen’s scheme using a lot of substitutions, there is a higher likelihood that they will have a lower impact every week. Having fresh defensive personnel isn’t a bad concept, as the Eagles and Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl in 2017 thanks to Jim Schwarts using that philosophy. The issue in Jacksonville has been how the backups have been both underperforming and used too frequently. Depth is an issue for Jacksonville, and with a scheme that is supposed to have good depth, there is a strong disconnect.
A top-heavy defense, with only two players making up that top group. It’s a defense made up of two elite defenders, a couple of decent players elsewhere, and a bunch of mediocre players. The Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns were two struggling offenses, and the Dolphins, even before Tua Tagovailoa got injured, were struggling to find their rhythm. The Jaguars still allowed the team to move down the field in huge chunks multiple times in week one. Being defeated by the Deshaun Watson Browns is one of the tougher losses, especially with how poorly that offense has looked through three weeks. The Jaguars made the Browns look competent. Finally, in week three, the Jaguars’ defense got torched by an elite quarterback Josh Allen. In a division with C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson, their play against good quarterbacks is alarming. Even struggling quarterbacks have found success against the Jaguars defense.
A hope remaining for the defense is that it’s a new scheme, and it takes some time to settle into a new scheme. Nielsen lost Tyson Campbell and Darnell Savage in week one and has not had Travon Walker or Arik Armstead play up to their potential. Despite the defense getting 47 points put on them by the Bills, there is still more optimism going forward as the defense gets healthier and better. There’s hope with the defense, which is hard to say with the offense.
How Do the Jaguars Move Forward?
Finding someone to blame for the Jaguars’ downward spiral, or finding a scapegoat and firing or cutting them is tempting. It makes the Jaguars’ early season collapse easier to comprehend. Many Jaguars fans will see their past ten games and blame it on Pederson and Taylor. While those two are some of the most deserving of blame, the players have also severely underperformed. The front office is at fault for not acquiring the best players for the offense and defense to succeed. It’s a team effort to win games in the NFL, and it’s an organizational effort to get where the Jaguars are now.
One of the most common themes that comes up when looking at the downward spiral the Jaguars are in is the disconnect all across the organization. From the front office and Trent Baalke not drafting the right players or signing the right free agents, to the coaching staff creating a scheme that doesn’t fit the players on the roster, a lot is going wrong in Jacksonville. Shad Khan being as angry as he is makes sense, with how solid the Jaguars are on paper, the performance through three weeks is more disappointing than any other team in the league. It’s a zero-and-three start to 2024, with little prospect of turning the season around for a playoff spot with how dysfunctional the Jaguars are.
A way that the Jaguars can move forward is by having Khan press the button, and fire Doug Pederson and Press Taylor. They haven’t shown enough through their time in Jacksonville after a collapse in 2023 and an awful start to 2024. But, making a change so early in the season is seldom done, especially for Khan. With the Jaguars spiraling out of control on national television, that timeline could be moved up. Firing a coach or making personnel changes might not make the Jaguars a better team, but it temporarily resets the downward spiral suffered by Jacksonville.
After the loss to the 2-0 Bills, one of the best teams in the NFL, the Jaguars are in dire need of a bounce-back performance. Something needs to change, and the Jaguars could be in line for some major changes soon. It’s been a downward spiral for the last ten games for Jacksonville. Finding success in the NFL is difficult, but the Jaguars have been an uncoordinated and disconnected disaster through three weeks. The issues are apparent, the ball is now in Shad Khans court to make the final call on any changes to fix a spiraling Jaguars team.
Main Image: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
