KANSAS CITY, Mo — The Jacksonville Jaguars‘ AFC South title and berth within the AFC divisional spherical definitely have been among the many most surprising developments of the NFL season.
Coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Trevor Lawrence agree that should not be the case any longer.
Profitable division titles and competing for a spot within the convention championship sport and Tremendous Bowl ought to be the baseline, they are saying, for the franchise going ahead.
“We labored so exhausting to get right here and no person thought we have been going to be right here and we had our shot and that is what hurts,” Lawrence stated Saturday night time after the 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. “We’ll be again. I am assured in that. That is extra the start than it’s the finish of one thing.
“That is simply getting began for us. We bought a style of it and guys are already hungry to get this chance once more.”
You possibly can’t blame anybody for not believing the Jaguars can be a postseason workforce when the season began. That they had simply had the No. 1 general decide in back-to-back drafts, had received 4 video games mixed in 2020-21, and have been nonetheless attempting to get well from head coach City Meyer’s dysfunctional 11-month tenure.
It seemed just like the Jaguars have been headed for his or her eleventh season of double-digit losses previously 12 after they dropped to 3-7 when the Chiefs beat them on Nov. 13 in Kansas Metropolis. As an alternative, the workforce received 5 of its subsequent six video games to arrange a winner-take-all sport with the Tennessee Titans in Week 18. The Jaguars received that sport in Jacksonville 20-16 to earn simply the second AFC South title in franchise historical past and make the playoffs for the primary time since 2017.
After committing 5 turnovers — together with 4 interceptions by Lawrence — and falling behind 27-0 within the first half, the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at TIAA Financial institution Discipline in a wild-card playoff sport final weekend. That arrange the Saturday rematch with the Chiefs.
The Jaguars could not cease Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce (14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns), dedicated two turnovers (together with one within the crimson zone), and have been unable to stress an injured Patrick Mahomes within the second half. An up-and-down marketing campaign that included a five-game shedding streak in October and a five-game win streak to shut out the common season ended one sport shy of the AFC title sport.
There are undoubtedly extra ups forward, Pederson stated. Primarily as a result of the Jaguars lastly have the factor that has eluded them for greater than twenty years: a franchise quarterback.
“I feel it is every part,” Pederson stated. “I’ve stated this earlier than that the success of your soccer workforce lies together with your quarterback and you have to get that piece and that participant proper and I really feel that Jacksonville bought that particular person proper. And he is simply going to get higher.”
Lawrence completed his second season with 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He accomplished 66.3% of his passes and his 95.2 passer score ranked tenth within the NFL. The Jaguars’ offense ranked tenth in yards per sport and eleventh in scoring within the first 12 months of Pederson’s system. Pederson and Lawrence count on the offense to be even higher of their second season collectively — and with the addition of receiver Calvin Ridley, for whom they traded in November.
There nonetheless are points with the roster — the move rush has to enhance and cornerback is arguably the highest want — however the Jaguars are in the very best form of any AFC South workforce due to Pederson and Lawrence.
That is why they imagine the Jaguars will likely be enjoying deep into January (and, they hope, February) for the foreseeable future.
“We’re all hurting due to the loss, however we’re all hurting too as a result of that is the ultimate sport of this 12 months and that is the exhausting factor,” Pederson stated. “However, like I instructed the blokes, these are the video games we will study from and we will be higher due to. I instructed them, ‘Simply plan on yearly of us being in these significant video games on the finish of the season.’ We need to be one of many 4, 5, six groups within the AFC yearly.”
Lawrence stated it might take some time for him to recover from the loss however he additionally stated the 2022 season will likely be what’s talked about because the turning level for the franchise.
“I feel this 12 months clearly was enormous for this group, for our metropolis, for simply our franchise transferring ahead,” he stated. “That type of units the bar of who we will be and what we will do transferring ahead and that is the mindset and we can’t accept lower than that. We bought a style of it being right here however there’s extra left and all of us really feel that.
“It may make us higher. This may not be the final you guys hear of us. We’ll be again.”