COLUMN: Jaguars Are Competitive, But Is That Enough For Shad Khan?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are taking playoff teams down to the wire. That should still not be enough for Shad Khan.

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan reacts during an NFL International Series game against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars' record doesn't show it, but there have been few teams as competitive week in and week out in 2024. There has only been one game in which the Jaguars were simply never in it, and that came in Buffalo in Week 3.

Week after week, the Jaguars are finding themselves in one-score games that go down to the wire against top contenders. In the last six weeks alone, they have lost in the final seconds to the Houston Texans, the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Texans were picked as a Super Bowl contender this year. The Packers were in the NFC Championship Game a year ago. The Eagles nearly won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago.

And the Jaguars hung with all of them. In fact, the Jaguars should have won all three games. The Jaguars' 2-7 record doesn't reflect what a tough out they have been in nearly every game this season.

But none of this matters. It shouldn't. Not to owner Shad Khan, not to head coach Doug Pederson, not to general manager Trent Baalke.

Not anybody.

The Jaguars' 1-5 record in one-score games this year is the worst in the NFL; to date, they are the only team this year to lose five one-score games. But this is not a badge of honor, and Khan should see that clearly.

Khan made his expectations clear in the summer. He wants to compete every week, but more importantly he wants to win. And the Jaguars locker room heard him. The coaching staff heard him. The front office heard him.

And to Khan's point, the Jaguars have been competitive. Only two of their games this year have been decided by more than one score. But Khan's mandate wasn't for the Jaguars to be the most competitive bottom-dweller in the AFC. It wasn't for the Jaguars to be the team that almost wins each Sunday.

Instead, Khan's mandate was for the Jaguars to win. Win now. Don't almost win. Don't have the league's worst record in one-score games.

And, for whatever reason, the Jaguars haven't been able to finish those games. The Jaguars would be a different team today if their one-score record was reversed. They would be 6-3 and on the inside track to the playoffs.

As such, their close-game battles are not something to be proud of. It is instead a hurdle that has kept the Jaguars from becoming the team that Khan and everyone else knows they should be.

When it comes to making decisions on the Jaguars' future, Khan should not see the close games as a sign that they are almost there. He should see the close games as a reason for why change should occur.

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