Doug Pederson is my vote for the coach of the year! Against all the odds, the Jacksonville Jaguars overcame a horrible 3-7 start to the season to win 6 of their last 7, the AFC South division title, and made the playoffs for the first time in 6 years.
What a game that was for the Jacksonville fans.
Having only seen the playoffs once in the last ten seasons under the Shad Khan regime, there is a real case that the Jaguars fanbase is not only one of the most loyal in the NFL, but also one of the most disrespected and starved ones too.
Aside from one great 2018 season that saw the Jaguars make an improbable run to the Conference Championship game, the team has either missed the playoffs with mediocre records (ex: 6-10, 5-11) in one of the consistently worst divisions in football or has been rock bottom of the league fighting for the 1st overall pick.
I can only think of one year (2018) where the Jaguars were actually competitive.
Yet, in one of the strangest ways one could imagine, first year HC Doug Pederson and second year quarterback Trevor Lawrence rewrote the wrongs of the past as they powered this young, hungry Jaguars team to the team’s fourth ever AFC South title by beating their divisional foe Tennessee Titans and the team’s first playoff appearance in 6 years. But not in the way many would have expected.
Despite combing for 36 points, both offenses were stuffed and battered on almost every single possession. Trevor Lawrence only had 20/32 completions for 212 yards and 1 TD, while Josh Dobbs had the exact same number of completions with a 20/29 passing accuracy for only 179 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.
Now, that is rather predictable for Dobbs and the Titans’ run-heavy offense as they WORKED Derrick Henry in this game with his 30 carries for 109 yards to garner 149 total rushing yards. However, what really surprised me was how bad the Jaguars rushing game was as Travis Etienne, their leading rusher on the day and on the year, only had 7 CAR for 17 yards as the Jaguars rushing game only had 19 total rushing yards.
Truthfully, the only offensive skill player that was doing anything was Christian Kirk as he finished the game with 6 REC for 99 yards and 1 TD, which proved to be the only offensive TD the Jaguars scored all game.
And this horrible offensive output was one of the main reasons why the Jaguars found themselves down 13-7 to the Titans at halftime, despite the raucous and over-capacitated (for the first time in Jaguars franchise history) TIAA Bank Field faithful cheering them on and the Titans in the midst of a 6-game losing streak.
In truth, if it wasn’t for the heroics of the defense, the Jags would have blown their biggest game in the TIAA Bank Field’s history.
Nonetheless, the defense lead by Josh Allen (6 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 FR, 1 DEF TD), Rayshawn Jenkins (7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD, 1 QB hit, 1 FF), Foyesade Oluokun (13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PD, 1 QB hit), Darious Williams (8 tackles, 1 PD), Chad Muma (7 tackles, 1 TFL), etc. were immense as they singlehandedly kept the Jaguars in the game with 87 tackles, 4 sacks, 8 TFL, 5 PD, 13 QB hits, an INT, 2 FF, 1 FR, and a fumble returned for a TD that ended up being the game-winning TD.
It was simply amazing to watch a unit that has long been the bane of the Jaguars organization for so many years come together and have the performance of a lifetime.
Sure, they were facing off against a backup quarterback, but to keep Derrick Henry to 109 yards on 30 CARRIES (that’s just 3.9 yards/carry), get 8 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, getting to the quarterback 19 times, and holding each Titans receiver to under 50 yards is not only impressive, but also goes to show the heart and confidence that this team plays with.
After going behind early to a team that specializes in playing with a lead, it would have been really easy (and quite typical) for the Jags defense to give up and allow Henry to get loose and punish them for multiple TDs and 200+ yards. That’s what the previous Jags defenses would have done.
But not his unit.
Nope, they not only held their ground and kept the Jaguars in the game, but they also ended up winning the game with Josh Allen’s incredible fumble recovery.
With exactly 3 minutes to go and the Titans up 14-13 with the ball at their own 30-yard line, it seemed very likely that they would either crush the hopes of the Jacksonville fans by draining the clock or would force the Jaguars offense to have to score a last-second field goal to win.
Yet, as Dobbs dropped back to pass, Rayshawn Jenkins came flying from the line of scrimmage and was completely unguarded as he drilled Dobbs from behind, forcing the QB to fumble the ball as he was trying to throw. Thus, the ball went 10-15 yards BEYOND the line of scrimmage and right into the wide-open path of Josh Allen, who easily scooped and scored 40 or so yards for the game-winning TD.
I still have my doubts that the Jaguars (9-8) will be able to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the 1st Round, but that shouldn’t matter to Jags fans. The only thing that should matter is the fact they now have a winning culture with young, hungry, and promising players capable of taking the franchise into the postseason. Plus, Trevor Lawrence is making really promising strides in becoming the generational, franchise QB the Jags drafted him to be.
As for the Titans (8-9), what a way to blow a golden opportunity for a fourth straight postseason appearance. Blowing the final 7 straight games after staring off the year 7-3 really has to sting for Mike Vrabel and his entire coaching staff as it might very well mean his job is on the chopping block.
Under the best circumstances, it’s hard to justify such a collapse of epic proportions, but when the owner, Amy Adams Strunk, he works for is known for her ruthlessness, it makes it that much harder to see Vrabel sticking around for too much longer.
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