By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE – Three weeks ago, the Jaguars were 8-3, and the scribes and prognosticators believed they had a legitimate shot to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
At midnight Monday, the bump in the Jacksonville night wasn’t a favorable one.
The Jags have suddenly gone from the thought of AFC contender to AFC pretender.They’re in the midst of a three-game freefall that could leave them with a Jan. 13-14 golf date instead of playoff one.
It’s real, and the sudden sense of reality is a cold smack in the face. The summer aspirations of advancing past a division championship this season have hit a crossroads.
It is no longer an easy path to the postseason.
Once interpreted as the soft end of their schedule, Sunday’s showdown in Tampa is now a must win.
Monday’s 23-7 loss to the Ravens at the Bank was worse than the final score. The Ravens ran roughshod over them for 250 yards. That’s a far cry from the Jags’ usual defensive allotment of 92.2 per game, formerly ranked fourth in the league.
In their last six games –dropping five of them — the Jags’ defense had allowed an average of 29.5 points per game. In their previous eight, they allowed 19.5. Ten more points a game makes a difference.
They let 13 first-half points slip out of their grasp against the Ravens when ever-reliable kicker Brandon McManus missed two 50-yard-plus attempts –distance usually isn’t an issue – one of them hitting the goal post and bouncing backwards. You had a sense it was going to be a bad night.
Then there was Trevor Lawrence’s shocking fumble when he suddenly lost control of the ball without getting hit. There were plenty of signs that the Jags were going in for a score on the drive.
Aside from the defense, there is plenty of concern about the offense. Receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones won’t play in Tampa.
Lawrence didn’t look fully recovered from his high ankle sprain against the Ravens, as he didn’t look totally in the flow throwing the ball.
From there, he went into concussion protocol Tuesday morning.
Yet, Lawrence is again proving that he is a true warrior, though, as he practiced Friday. It’s hard to think he won’t be under center at Raymond James Stadium.
Still, this is a Tampa team that has won three straight and is ready to wrap up a NFC South title after the Saints loss Thursday night. Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s play has Bucs fans thinking about Tom Brady’s Super Bowl run two years ago.
At 8-6, the Jags are still the favorite to win the AFC South. They have the tiebreaker over the Colts due to their two victories over Indianapolis this season. However, they don’t want to have to worry about that especially with all three clubs with 8-6 records heading into Sunday.
But a loss in Tampa certainly will create a murky picture. The Jags will return home to host Carolina and then travel to Tennessee for the finale, but the Titans have found new life again.
The Colts travel to Atlanta Sunday and then host the Raiders and Texans. The Texans have a bumpy road ahead hosting the Browns and Titans before their showdown with the Colts.
This isn’t total desperation, but it’s not a good feeling.
Head coach Doug Pederson is faced with a major hurdle in his two-year Jaguars’ coaching career. He redirected the team last season after a 2-6 start to win seven of their last eight.
Now Pederson had to regroup his defense, and rey on his stud quarterback to right the offense. To their credit, the Jags are 6-1 on the road (two London wins) and only 2-5 at Everbank.
It’s crunchtime, and too early to break out the golf clubs.
(SportsDay photo by Nancy Delander Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)
