Jaguars look to do what recent teams couldn't: Build on success

The NFL wants every team to be a teeter totter. Thrills one year … but then tough sledding … but then renewed hope … but then somewhere in the middle.

The salary cap, establishing draft position by record,

challenging first-place teams with more games against other division champions — all put-in-place mechanisms to create December intrigue and keep every market engaged.

For 36 consecutive seasons, at least four teams have made the playoffs after missing the year before.

Quick turnarounds are the norm. You know all about that, Jacksonville Jaguars fans.

But same for quick declines. You really know all about that.

And thus is the challenge for the Jaguars, led by coach Liam Coen, general manager James Gladstone and executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli entering their second season atop the team’s football masthead.

Accomplish what James Harris/Jack Del Rio failed to do in 2006 and 2008, Tom Coughlin/Dave Caldwell/Doug Marrone failed to do in 2018 and Trent Baalke/Doug Pederson failed to do in 2023.

Make the playoffs a habit.

Last year was a joyride of sorts for this community, a total script-flip of 4-13 to 13-4 and the AFC South title. They scored points (sixth-most in the league). They forced turnovers (second-most). And their coach and quarterback (Trevor Lawrence) became overnight stars, finalists for the league’s top individual awards (top coach/Most Valuable Player).

But heading into the Sept. 13 lid-lifter against the Cleveland Browns, last year doesn’t matter. It hasn’t mattered since the day after the Jaguars lost to the Buffalo Bills in a wild-card playoff game.

What does matter: Do what Jaguars teams in the last 25 years have been unable to pull off. Continue to prove the uneducated that this is for real.

“We’re not in a place (where we can) hang out and just kind of chill, right?” Coen said.

Right.

“Our mindset is, we have to go prove it and go earn it because consistency is the truest measure of performance," Coen said.

Handling prosperity a 25-year issue for Jaguars

Besides remaining one of only four teams (Cleveland, Houston Texans and Detroit Lions) to never play in a Super Bowl, the Jaguars belong in a significantly more damning category.

Since 2000, the Jaguars, Cleveland and Washington Commanders are the only teams without back-to-back playoff appearances.

The Jaguars qualified in 2005, 2007, 2017, 2022 and now 2025.

The Browns qualified in 2002, 2020 and 2023.

And the now-Commanders qualified in 2005, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2020 and 2024.

Talk about not handling high tides.

The other 29 teams have reached the playoffs at least two consecutive years a combined 69 times, led by New England (11-year streak).

Even Las Vegas had a three-year run (2000-02). Even the New York Jets have two sets of back-to-back appearances (2001-02 and 2009-10). And even the Miami Dolphins have two multi-year streaks (1997-2001 bridging the centuries and 2022-23).

The Jaguars are best-positioned to escape this futile category.

Cleveland is resetting (again) with coach Todd Monken and traded the league’s best defensive player, Myles Garrett, in the offseason. Washington was in the NFC Championship Game two years ago, but may finish last in its division this season.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, are locked and primed. They weren’t in total run-it-back mode during the offseason, but pretty close. The only significant players not back are running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd, allowed to sign with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

The Jaguars are young at running back, committing to Chris Rodriguez Jr.(fifth year, but never a starter) and second-year players Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, Jr., and they passed on adding a veteran situational pass rusher, believing Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker will get off to a better start (Hines-Allen) and remain healthy (Walker) than last year.

But those mini-gambles aside, the team you saw roll to an eight-game winning streak to finish the 2025 regular season is going to be the team you see face the Browns.

And that’s fine … we think.

Can Jaguars buck post-breakout year trend?

Since the 16-game season was introduced in 1978 and expanded to 17 games in 2021, only 10 teams have improved by at least nine wins from the previous season. Last year, the Jaguars (plus-9 to 13-4) and New England (plus-11 to 14-3) joined the list.

The year-after-the-breakout-year data isn’t kind.

First, the good news.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were 6-10 in 2003, 15-1 in 2004 (lost to New England in the AFC Championship Game) and won the Super Bowl in 2005 with an 11-5 record. The Steelers won three playoff road games before beating Seattle for the title.

Now, the bad news.

Among the first eight teams, only four made the playoffs the following season and none won more games. The Indianapolis Colts and then-St. Louis Rams in 2000 lost in the wild card round and the 2013 Colts lost in the divisional round. San Francisco (2020) and Miami (2009) had losing records the season after improving by nine and 10 wins, respectively (the 49ers lost in the Super Bowl).

That’s nature of the NFL Teeter Totter, right?

This Jaguars team will be different, though.

They won’t win 13 games, but will repeat as AFC South champs (why all the Texans love?). Coen is too good. Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile too innovative. And, oh yeah, they have a lot of good players. For all the pass catchers (tight end Brenton Strange and receivers Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., and even Travis Hunter), this offense wants to be known as one who puts their work boots on, hitches up their belts and kicks defenses in the teeth with an improved running game.

On defense, they want to be “stickier” (their buzzword) in coverage to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. On early downs, they return the league’s best rush defense.

It won’t be a straight line, unless you’re referring to a straight line to the airport. From Sept. 28-Nov. 28, they will play one home game (Nov. 1 vs. Indianapolis), a span that includes four true road games (Cincinnati, Baltimore, Tennessee and the New York Giants) and two games in London (Philadelphia and Houston).

A Super Bowl for the Jaguars? I have them losing at Baltimore in the divisional round, another significant brick in a foundation that could be long-lasting.

“It’s about sustained success,” Strange said. “That’s the only thing we want to do. We just want to keep being successful for this city and for this organization.”

Contact O’Halloran at [e-mail] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-7 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars look to do what recent teams couldn't: Build on success