Moeller: Jaguars Looking To Prove Fast Start Wasn't A Fluke
For the Jaguars, this could be a tale of two seasons.
The Jags (5-4), though, surely would want it to be a year of three or four seasons.
After they lost a 19-point lead - their largest advantage in club history when they lost a game - last Sunday in Houston, they suddenly looked like a shadow of themselves from their opening enthralling chapter of a 4-1 start.
Their loss in Houston could be pinned on their defense, and the offense also to share some of the blame. The Jags’ offensive line didn’t have any answers to stop Houston defensive end Danielle Hunter, whose 3.5 sacks couldn’t have been more perfectly timed to stall their offense.
The miraculous 31-28 last-minute, Monday night victory over the Chiefs at EverBank seems like a long time ago.
Was it all smoke and mirrors? A true fluke?
That victory marked the end of the Jags. 4-1 start when they were considered one of the prime-time contenders for the AFC South title as well as the league championship.
Their offense was fluid and balanced, and top pick Travis Hunter began to emerge as an offensive force. Despite six turnovers, Trevor Lawrence was effective and efficient, looking like the expected generational player, and he was sacked only six times.
The defense under new coordinator Anthony Campanile was aggressive and smart, as they registered a league-high 14 takeaways. Linebacker Devin Lloyd was playing like a man possessed with four interceptions and was all over the field.
That was then, this is now.
Over the last four games, the Jags were flat against the Seahawks in a stunning home loss, didn’t show up against the Rams in London, and barely snuck by the Raiders. The loss in Houston was totally inexcusable and unexplainable in some ways. To me, the Jags are hexed by the Texans.
Since the 14 takeaways, they have had four. In their first five games, the Jags allowed 96 points, an average of 19, and they have allowed 120 points through their last four, an average of 30. In their latest slide, they have allowed an average of 347.5 yards per game.
They are now tied with the Broncos for the most penalties in the league with 83, and they own a league-high average 9.2 per game.
Lawrence has sunk to a league fourth-lowest 59.9 passing percentage rate, and he has been sacked 20 times over the last five weeks to soar that number from six to 26. In Lawrence’s defense, the team leads the league in dropped passes with 31.
Sometimes, numbers don’t lie.
Say it to yourself..were the first five games a fluke?
That’s the question head coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone face over the last eight games of the season. Gladstone did acquire wide receiver Jacobi Myers from the Raiders, and he should be a major contributor.
Jacksonville is still in the playoff hunt, and they don’t have a difficult schedule ahead. They can shape their own destiny with a pair of games against the Colts and Titans, as well as dates with the Jets and Cardinals.
The freefall of their second season can come to halt against the surging Chargers (7-3) at the Bank Sunday. Entering the game with a three-game winning streak and capturing three of the last four, the Chargers present a Herculean task.
If not, it will look more like a fluke season.
