Jacksonville just blew a 19-point fourth quarter lead to Davis Mills and the Texans — trips to the water cooler haven’t been a little duller this week.
Still, as head coach Liam Coen said Monday, the Jaguars
have more games left to play.
“This [past] game can’t beat us again. It can’t beat us on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. because we’re kicking off against the Chargers and have a very quality opponent coming into town.”
“It’s hard to move forward, but come Wednesday, we’re preparing for another opponent. When the players get back in the building, we are preparing for another opponent. We’ve got to get this tape fixed and corrected and moved on, but I’m not worried about losing the team by any means.”
As Week 11 approaches, we rounded up the latest NFL power rankings to get a sense of how the Jaguars are viewed nationally.
USA Today: 14 (last week: 13)
Despite Sunday’s implosion in Houston, you knew they’d make the AFC playoff field over the Chiefs if the season ended today (it doesn’t), right?
Pro Football Talk: 17 (13)
The wheels could come off, quickly.
ESPN: 17 (15)
Non-QB MVP: RB Travis Etienne Jr .
He has been the Jaguars’ best player all season and is on pace for a career-high 1,239 yards rushing. He’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry, which would be the second highest of his career if it holds. With Travis Hunter on IR and Brian Thomas Jr. dealing with an ankle injury, the offense has pretty much run through Etienne the past two games.
Bleacher Report: 17 (16)
The Jaguars have been beaten fairly convincingly in three of their last four games—with an overtime win over the Raiders their only victory since early October—and significant issues have emerged. Opposing defenses seem to be catching up to Liam Coen’s scheme, and Trevor Lawrence hasn’t shown the growth most expected to see under the new head coach. Jacksonville’s secondary remains a liability too. After blowing a 19-point second-half lead to the Texans, the Jags need to find answers quickly if they hope to stay in the playoff picture.
NFL.com: 18 (15)
No sugar-coating here: This was one of the worst regular-season losses in franchise history. The Jaguars were beating the Texans and backup QB Davis Mills soundly on Sunday, up 29-10 thanks to good special teams and defense and just enough offense. Next Gen Stats gave them a 97% chance to win at that point. Somehow, Jacksonville’s defense allowed Mills to squirrel his way out of multiple sacks and lead three touchdown drives in just over a quarter, with a defensive TD tacked on as time expired for an additional layer of torture. Jacksonville is a one-point overtime win over Las Vegas away from having lost four straight. Liam Coen is facing his first crisis as Jaguars coach, as it has gotten very dark very fast.
The Ringer: 18 (17)
Losing a multi-score lead to the Texans offense is embarrassing enough. Now, it’s time for the Jaguars to bounce back and plant their flag as a legitimate force in the AFC playoff picture, and there’s no better opportunity than against the Chargers. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence needs to put this team on his back and force his way to a victory—or that Fraud Watch sticker will be slapped on this team in record time.
CBS Sports: 19 (14)
Blowing a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to Davis Mills has to sting for this group. The defense cost them this one, but the offense doesn’t do enough.
The Athletic: 19 (15)
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
Breakout player: Travis Etienne
Things aren’t going great in Jacksonville, where the Jaguars have lost three of four after a hot start. But at least Etienne is having a nice bounce-back season. He has 656 rushing yards, which ranks 12th in the league and tops last year’s total of 558. He also scored his third rushing touchdown Sunday, which topped last year’s total of two. Parker Washington, who had a 72-yard punt return touchdown Sunday and is on the way to career highs in catches and yards, deserves a nod, too.
Fox Sports: 19 (17)
They led 29-10 in Houston entering the fourth quarter and threw it all away in embarrassing fashion. And it wasn’t just their defense. Their offense picked up just 11 fourth-quarter yards.
Yahoo Sports: 19 (19)
You can’t lose a game in which you lead 29-10 and are facing Davis Mills at quarterback. But the Jaguars probably didn’t deserve to win anyway. They were outgained 412-213. The offense disappeared in the fourth quarter as Houston rallied. Jacksonville isn’t a very good team.
Sports Illustrated: 20 (18)
Here’s an interesting question for James Gladstone: What would you do if either the Rams, Jets or Browns—three of the teams with multiple first-round picks in this or next year’s draft—offered you one or both of those picks for Trevor Lawrence? I know he’s not the central issue right now after a game in which Davis Mills mounted a comeback, but that might be food for thought sooner rather than later.
Where would you rank the team, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
