The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-5 and everyone is down on them.
Head coach Doug Pederson is facing a “scalding” hot seat, as Pro Football Focus put it, “The bottom line is this: Despite reaching the AFC Divisional in 2022, Pederson never realized the bright potential of Lawrence and other talented young Jaguars. It seems like only a matter of time before Shad Khan gives him the axe.”
Things are looking bleak in Duval, but star safety Darnell Savage said he and the team know how to ignore those doubters.
“We just kept inside things inside. We have family in here and we try to keep it that way,” Savage said. “At the end of the day, we’re the ones who come to work every day and it comes to a point in time where you’ve got to work through things together. You can’t worry about what everybody else outside is talking about, you got to work through it together and I think we’ve done a good job with kind of coming together getting on the same page offensively and defensively and playing special teams as well. Park [WR Parker Washington] had a big return. Just playing complimentary football. That’s a big part of this league, so we’re just trying to keep building on that.”
That response is the best way to handle such pressure. The Jaguars demonstrated resilience against the New England Patriots this past Sunday when they overcame an abysmal first quarter and 10-point deficit to handily win 32-16.
It was the team’s most complete and inspired effort of the season, and though that bar might be a little low because of the 2-5 record, it was nonetheless a good look. The Jaguars dominant running the ball and the offensive line played it’s best game of the season.
As such, Trevor Lawrence was effective in the passing game and rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. showed why he might just be the steal of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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