Jaguars vs. Saints: Week 7 Staff Predictions

What does the Jaguar Report staff think about the Jaguars' chances tonight?

The Jacksonville Jaguars will look to extend their winning streak to four games, but they will face a tough test with the New Orleans on a short week.

So how does the Jaguar Report staff see Thursday Night Football playing out? We break it down below.

John Shipley

Prediction: I expect this to be one of the sloppier games of the Jaguars' 2023 season, but that doesn't really matter much as long as they come away with the win. A win would mean the Jaguars have played four games in 18 days -- two in London, one in New Orleans on a short week, and one at home after a 10-day trip overseas -- and came away as winners in each one. That would be a heck of a testament to the maturity and growth of Doug Pederson's squad.

My guess is we see Trevor Lawrence play but the Jaguars have the training wheels on the offense in order to protect him. A ball-control offense that tries to eat up clock and get a few field goals and explosive runs is what I expect to see. That won't win you games every week, but it should this week. 

The Saints' offense has floundered all season and there just don't seem to be many easy answers for them. On a short week with a banged-up line and with the Jaguars' defense playing inspired football, I expect the Jaguars to dominate defensively to set up a few easy possessions for the Jaguars.

Jaguars 17, Saints 13.

Daniel Griffis

Prediction: With uncertainty at quarterback, this is a hard game to predict. If Trevor plays and is good to go, this becomes a much easier game to predict, however, his health is a major uncertainty. If Beathard plays, it gets much more difficult. I think Lawrence suits up and leads the Jaguars to four straight wins. Defense, again, comes up huge with some turnovers to make it easier.

Jaguars 27, Saints 17

Zach Schultz

Prediction: 

The only strong feel I have for Thursday Night Football in New Orleans is that it won’t be pretty. Both teams are banged up heavily, Trevor Lawrence won’t be his full self if he does go, and we’ve got a short prep week. Even with injuries to their defense the Saints won’t be a push over. They play a lot of man so I do look for Christian Kirk to be heavily involved. Luckily for the Jaguars they’ve been playing great defense and the Saints are average at best on offense. The front seven should create problems for Derek Carr and the running game which I think leads to somewhat of a Minshew situation. 

I’m guessing Trevor plays and Jags win 20-13. If for some reason Beathard does starts, we’re looking at even more of a slop fest. I’ll get weird and say 13-10 Jags in that scenario as I think the Jaguars defense is just too much for the Saints offense right now. 

Kyle Nash

Prediction: The New Orleans Saints may be the team that is most similar in makeup to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Known for having Pro Bowl-caliber stars at different levels of their defense while featuring explosive elements on offense with speedy receivers, versatile running backs with no less than above-average quarterback play.

The key for the Jags defensively is to prevent the Saints’ Alvin Kamara from gashing them with yards after the catch on short passes at the running back position. Doing so will force 3rd-and-longs that will give Jacksonville’s Josh Allen opportunity to force New Orleans’ David Carr into making mistakes under center.

Similarly, the Jags’ should use Travis Etienne and Evan Engram to not only help to protect quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but to pull the defense forward to beat them downfield with Christian Kirk if Calvin Ridley can’t break free from Saints’ cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

The coaching match-up here makes the difference as Doug Pederson pencil whips Dennis Allen to secure the 30-20 Jaguars victory.

Arnav Sharma

Prediction: 

This is not an easy game to predict. With Trevor Lawrence's knee injury leaving him questionable, my confidence in the game distills down to 1) whether or not he plays and 2) how confident he feels on his knee if he does play. Shifting an offense under a backup quarterback on a short week isn't easy; even if the Saints aren't a robust team, this game will still be a serious coaching test for Doug Pederson if CJ Beatherd finds himself under center. At the very least, this could be a good chance for the Jaguars offensive line to get valuable game-speed run-blocking reps in; with Travis Etienne's recent boom in production, his presence may be all that's needed for the team to solidify a win.

On their own merits, the Jaguars defense should be good enough to stifle one of the league's worst offenses. Ideally, it doesn't matter if Lawrence plays because the Saints shouldn't score more than 10 points. The question in my mind isn't whether Jacksonville will win or not -- it's about whether they will dominate or just win in an old-fashioned defense/ground-and-pound slugfest.

If Lawrence plays: Jaguars 30, Saints 6.

If Lawrence doesn't play: Jaguars 16, Saints 10

Ryan Michael

Prediction: The biggest question this week is whether or not Trevor Lawrence will play. The second biggest question this week is—if he does play, how healthy will he be? This is the same Trevor Lawrence who rushed his way back from a leg injury last year and played a good chunk of the season at less than 100%. Missing games isn’t in his DNA. Including the preseason and postseason, he’s started 40 consecutive games since being drafted. 

Without Lawrence, I see Jacksonville losing by at least two touchdowns. If he does play, and I expect he will, it won’t be a particularly pretty performance. He’ll force throws out quickly to avoid contact and with a receiving corps that has struggled to create separation and hold onto the football, it could be a rough night. The Jags defense ranks 15th in PPG surrendered, coming off hot performances vs. Atlanta (7), Buffalo (20) and Indianapolis (20). I see that momentum slowing down vs. a very average New Orleans offense. The Saints defense is tied for No. 1 in the NFL in rushing touchdowns surrendered (only one all season). The biggest concern for me is Lawrence exacerbating his injury. Only time will tell.

Saints 26, Jaguars 17.