Face the Facts: Jaguars Have Gone Toe-to-Toe with the Best

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-7 and one of the worst teams in the league. Still, they have taken some of the best teams in the National Football League to the brink.

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (23) and Darnell Savage (6) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost multiple games they easily could have won with slightly better play. This has been one of the most frustrating facts of this brutal Jaguars season. Making matters worse is the fact that the Jaguars have lost so many close games.

Five of the Jaguars’ seven losses this season have come by less than a touchdown. Many of those seven losses have come against teams that have a better roster and overall situation than the Jaguars. 

The two most recent and arguably two best instances of this was the Jaguars last two games. Jacksonville lost to the Philadelphia Eagles by five on Sunday. They loss to the Green Bay Packers by three the week before.

The Jaguars’ record shows they are a bad team. While in the NFL, you are what your record says you are, the Jaguars have played improved football over the last few weeks against some of the better teams in the league.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson noted that the caliber of teams the Jaguars have come up just short against were some of the best teams the league has to offer. 

“Two weeks ago, the Packers, I think, were in the NFC Championship game a year ago, right? Team we played yesterday was in the Super Bowl just recently. 

“Then, you point out the mistakes that coaches and players make on our side. It encourages you because you're that close. I mean, you're just a play away, right? You just never know when those plays are going to come. Those moments are going to come in the game. 

“Your awareness as a coach, your awareness as a player, we've got to be on the same page, we've got to communicate, all those things. But it does encourage you that you can play with these guys.”

The Jaguars have lost five games by less than a touchdown. Pederson explained how close the Jaguars were to winning multiple games that ended in a loss this season. 

“Quite frankly, you eliminate a few mistakes. We don't give them 13 points off the turnovers,” Pederson said. “And the week before, we don't give them 14 points off the turnovers. Things could be different, right? 

“Go back to Miami. I keep going back to that game. We fumble on the two. Next play, it's 80 yards [and] they’re in the end zone. So that's the part that we have to, as a team, we have to overcome. We have to eliminate. I think it gives us a better chance.”

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