The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off their second straight 9-8 season. However, the 2023 9-8 season and 2022 9-8 season are not created equally.
The Jaguars were the No. 1 seed in the AFC after 11 games, and then lost five of their final six games in the midst of Trevor Lawrence suffering a myriad of injuries. The Jaguars’ secondary was also very bad last season, finishing 26th in passing yards allowed per game. This led to head coach Doug Pederson coming under fire and needing to make some changes to his staff. He fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and hired former Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. While that is a clear upgrade, the Jaguars’ immediate future is somewhat up in the air and unpredictable, which may be why CBS Sports NFL analyst Cody Benjamin ranked Pederson just outside of the top 15 in his head coach rankings, putting the Super Bowl champion at No. 16.
“Nothing, it seems, is ever boring when it comes to Pederson's teams,” Benjamin wrote. “He experienced ultimate highs (a Super Bowl triumph) and lows (an early dismissal) in Philadelphia before rejuvenating Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, only to then oversee a turnover-riddled step back in 2023. The player-friendly pizzazz remains, but he's got to prove again he's got an innovative handle on the offense.”
The Jaguars have one of the finest quarterbacks in the league in Lawrence, and they got better up front over the offseason adding Mitch Morse at center. If Lawrence is given time to make plays, this is a Jaguars team that should be able to rebound from the lackluster ending to 2023.
