The Jaguars are 4-3 with fresh legs after enjoying a bye during Week 8.
“We obviously had some guys a little nicked, and you go through some physical football games in the early part of the season, and so you need
it,” head coach Liam Coen said Monday. “Everybody needs a reset and an opportunity to get away from it. Spend some quality time with family and friends and have that nice little mental and physical reset to now come into the building with everything ahead of us.”
As Week 9 approaches, we rounded up the latest NFL power rankings to get a sense of how the Jaguars are viewed nationally.
Pro Football Talk: 13 (last week: 13)
They can get back on the right track with a visit to the Raiders.
CBS Sports: 13 (20)
They come off their bye in need of better play from the passing game. It’s time for the Trevor Lawrence -Brian Thomas Jr. connection to show some life.
USA Today: 14 (14)
Coming off an ugly “home” game in London and their bye, they’ll only play in Duval County once between now and Dec. 7.
Fox Sports: 14 (15)
They went into their bye coming off two straight losses where they scored a combined 19 points. They better come out of it strong in Las Vegas this weekend.
NFL.com: 15 (15)
The season has shifted dramatically a few times, but the reality is that Jacksonville hit the Week 8 bye facing an identity crisis following two straight losses. The win over the Chiefs suddenly feels like it came half a season ago, and the Jaguars now must go on the road for four of their next five. This stretch could define the futures of Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. in Jacksonville. So far, they have not been a productive enough pair. The defense also has stopped turning the ball over, generating 13 takeaways in the first four games and only one in the three since. The Colts keep winning, and the Texans aren’t yet going away, so we should learn a lot about the Jags over this next month. Are they built to last?
The Athletic: 15 (16)
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
Something scary: The drops
Twenty-one! Jaguars wide receivers have dropped a league-high 21 passes this season. That’s tied for the second most through the first eight weeks since at least 1999, according to TruMedia. Trevor Lawrence (who is 28th in EPA per dropback and 33rd in completion percentage) hasn’t been good, but he’s not getting any help, either. Brian Thomas Jr. has six drops himself.
ESPN: 15 (17)
Best offseason addition: WR/CB Travis Hunter
He’s arguably the Jaguars’ best receiver and cornerback already. Coach Liam Coen also is making it a priority to call more plays where Hunter is the No. 1 option on offense. He leads the team with 28 catches and is coming off his first 100-yard game (eight catches, 101 yards and a score against the Rams ). Hunter has three pass breakups in limited work on defense, including one on third down against Davante Adams.
Yahoo Sports: 16 (19)
The Jaguars come out of the bye and play a Raiders team they should beat. A big question will be if they can continue to get the most out of Travis Hunter, who had 101 receiving yards in his last game before the bye.
Bleacher Report: 16 (19)
At 4-3 and 2.5 games behind the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South, the Jaguars are feeling the need to make something happen … a defensive addition can show Jacksonville isn’t giving up on this season. The team has a manageable schedule coming out of its bye and needs to make a push sooner rather than later.
The Ringer: 19 (18)
The first half of Jacksonville’s season looked as treacherous as that faced by any team in the NFL, but the Jaguars went 4-3 and didn’t need any heroics from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. They have a few challenging matchups left against Indianapolis and Denver, but the rest of the slate is set up pretty well for Jacksonville to make a playoff push. It’s imperative that the Jaguars don’t slip up against inferior competition.
Sports Illustrated: 20 (20)
From Mike DiRocco over at ESPN: Don’t be surprised if the Jaguars stop treating Brian Thomas Jr. like WR1 after a struggle-laden, drop-heavy first half of the season. That means Travis Hunter fantasy owners, much like RJ Harvey, might finally find their pot of gold.
Where would you rank the team, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
