It wasn’t always pretty, but the Jaguars escaped with a win in Week 3. Liam Coen has led Jacksonville to a 2-1 start for just the fourth time since 2007. Things are looking up!
As Week 4 approaches, we rounded up the latest NFL power rankings to get a sense of how the Jaguars are viewed nationally.
The Athletic: 16 (last week: 19)
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
This is Trevor Lawrence’s fifth NFL season, and we keep waiting for a breakout that once felt inevitable. But the switch to Liam Coen as head coach hasn’t come with the positive
shift in Lawrence many expected. It’s still early, but this season, Lawrence has completed just 58.8 percent of his passes (30th in the NFL) for 5.9 yards per attempt (25th) and has thrown as many touchdowns (four) as interceptions.
Yahoo Sports: 16 (22)
It wasn’t the most impressive performance, but the Jaguars pulled out a win against an offensively inept Texans team. Trevor Lawrence doesn’t look much better, Travis Hunter’s usage is strange, Brian Thomas Jr. is a shell of his rookie self, and despite all that the Jaguars are doing OK at 2-1.
CBS Sports: 17 (19)
The defense saved the day against the Texans, but the offense still isn’t clicking. They have way too many penalties and drops.
USA Today: 17 (19)
DE Josh Hines-Allen needs two sacks to become this franchise’s all-time leader. Tony Brackens, with 55, is currently the standard bearer … and a reminder that the Jags’ best days occurred a quarter-century ago.
NFL.com: 17 (23)
The Panthers, Bengals and Texans might not represent the most fearsome trio of opponents, but the Jaguars’ defense held up well against all three, for the most part, which is a big reason for the team’s 2-1 start. They’ll rue letting that Cincinnati game get away, but Sunday was a turn in the right direction . A young team has to make big plays in crunch time to learn how to win, and the Jaguars did just that with three fourth-quarter turnovers against Houston — their third straight three-TO game to open the season. Liam Coen’s offense still has plenty of room for growth, and Brian Thomas Jr. ’s struggles have been borderline alarming. He had three drops by my count and seemed mostly miserable for the game’s first 58 minutes, but Thomas came up with a massive catch late to help the Jaguars pull out the thriller and earn a big divisional win.
ESPN: 18 (23)
We’re nitpicking here because the defense has been the backbone of Jacksonville’s two wins. The Jaguars rank fifth in points allowed per game (17, tied with the Texans and Cardinals) and rushing yards allowed per game (82.7). But they’re not converting a significant amount of pressure into sacks. They rank ninth with 44 QB pressures but have only six sacks, and their pressure rate (33.6%) ranks 18th. Defensive end Travon Walker leads the team with two sacks, while defensive tackle Arik Armstead is second with 1.5.
Pro Football Talk: 18 (24)
They tried to give Sunday’s game to Houston; they’re lucky the Texans apparently didn’t want to take it.
Bleacher Report: 19 (23)
The good news is that after besting the Texans in a game that fans should have been paid to watch, the Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-1 to open the season. The bad news for the Jaguars is just about everything else.
To be fair, the Jaguars were improved defensively in Week 3 relative to last week’s meltdown in Cincinnati—the Jags gave up just one touchdown forced three turnovers and held the Texans to just 271 yards of offense. But the offense that new head coach Liam Coen was supposed to unlock was mostly MIA again. Trevor Lawrence completed just 50 percent of his passes and threw another pick. Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was mostly a non-factor for the third time in as many games. And Jacksonville managed just 86 yards on the ground.
Could these Jaguars beat an injury-ravaged 49ers team in Santa Clara next week? Maybe. Are they any kind of real factor in the AFC? Not looking like this.
Sports Illustrated: 20 (24)
While I recognize that I cannot praise the Eagles for willfully ignoring A.J. Brown for half the year and dog the Jaguars for Brian Thomas’s struggles early in the season, it feels like Trevor Lawrence doesn’t trust his top wideouts and is passing them up in critical situations. It happened multiple times against the Texans, which got patched over thanks to a critical win.
The Ringer: 22 (24)
The Jaguars are 2-1—they really should be 3-0—and it feels like this coaching staff has been dragging them to wins every step of the way. Jacksonville’s run game has sneakily been one of the best in the league, a calling card of head coach Liam Coen last year in Tampa Bay. Things haven’t clicked yet in the passing game, but that’s because the offensive design has far outpaced the unit’s execution. With the schedule getting tougher from here, it’ll be on quarterback Trevor Lawrence to take the reins and determine whether this team can hold its winning form.
Where would you rank the team, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
