JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are six games remaining in this wreck of a season.
After a 52-6 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions, the worst loss in Jaguars history, the team had a fortnight to reflect on what went wrong. There's six more weeks for Shad Khan to debate potential general manager/head coach combos. Six more weeks to consider drafting Travis Hunter or trade down. Then they can reset the entire project.
I think back to 2016, where Blake Bortles, his two 1,000-yard receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, and a stellar defensive unit led by the elite defensive coordinator background of Gus Bradley were supposed to turn a corner. They dropped game after game, and they limped to 3-13. Bradley was fired and he made Doug Marrone look like Chuck Noll.
That year is my biggest letdown as a supporter, though the seven-game losing streak in 2018 and two-season-spanning 20-game losing streak both come close. I'm used to it now, I'm wearing my Jaguars disappointment Kevlar with extra mental resilience. Do not let this franchise surprise you.
Back to the present: this is one of the worst teams in franchise history. The 475-yard differential between the Jags and Lions was the third largest in league history, per ESPN. The Lions' 38 first downs two weeks ago is around a fifth of the total Jaguars first downs through 11 games (184).
The 2-9 Jaguars still have a chance to make the playoffs. Sure, the Texans can only win one or two more games, the Colts have to maintain their mediocre paralysis and the Titans don't have to change a thing. It's not happening. The Jags would need the Rapture to occur; they would need Tupac, Jimmy Hoffa, the Dodo bird, the Caspian Tiger and the Woolly Mammoth to be discovered alive.
Any victory today is Pyrrhic and will lessen the need for hyperbole. It's for the players to audition for their next team. It's to make sure Doug Pederson's overall record as a coach hovers higher than .500 (His career record prior to today's matchup is 62–62–1). He likely won't get a third crack at this or as an offensive coordinator, but he can point to two 9-8 seasons and a playoff win. I'm sure a Power Five school would jump at the chance?
For Sunday, Trevor is back and he feels good! The Texans: A far cry from last year's division winners, they remind me of those perennial 8-8 Jeff Fisher teams from the mid-2000s with a AFC South win multiplier. Injuries and substandard QB play will do that to you. They are miles ahead the best team in the division
What I'm thankful for: Khan isn't David Tepper or Dan Snyder; He makes measured decisions in good faith. I don't think he's made a bad coaching hire on paper with Bradley, Marrone and Pederson*. Tom Coughlin will probably be in the Hall-of-Fame and could have established an identity during his second run. Trent Baalke had a winning run in San Francisco, though Jim Harbaugh would beg to differ. There is a coherent plan to refurbish the stadium and the Jaguars' two playoff runs were very fun.
Ever the optimist, I believe the Jags have a future as long as the draft exists. But I look at soon-to-be open head coaching positions in Dallas and for the New York Giants. I see the New Orleans, Chicago and Jets' open jobs and something tells me the Jags won't get the first pick of the bunch. Intuition tells you, "They can't make the same mistakes, they can't screw this up again."
The futility is that they can, over and over.
*Urban Meyer did happen. A winning college coach with three years of inactivity didn't scream "Yes, this will work" and I understand he's one of the worst coaches in NFL history, but it was the pandemic and Meyer didn't exactly exhibit his Jags' behavior at his previous gigs. Khan deserves criticism for that despite my Pollyanna description of his 13-year ownership above. He's not Dave Tepper.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
