One Obvious Mistake is Killing the Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have many points of improvement this season but no more than having to climb back on the scoreboard in almost every game this season.

Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches a replay against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) have struggled heavily at getting out to a fast start this season and have been playing from behind early in almost every game this season.

In eight games this season, the Jaguars have trailed in the first half of six of those contests, including trailing by 10 or more points in the first quarter of five those games. It is so difficult to win in the NFL when you get off to a slow start and fall behind by double digits within the first 15 minutes.

The importance of starting the ballgame with a lead cannot go understated. It gives the Jaguars the ability to play looser on both sides of the ball, control tempo, clock management, and opens their offensive playbook to run a variety of plays to mix up the opposing defensive schemes.

For the second straight week, the Jaguars fell down 10-0 in the first quarter. They were able to come all the way back and beat the Patriots in Week 7 in London. They were not so fortunate this past Sunday, losing to the Packers in the final seconds at home.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was asked about how pleased he was with his his teams ability to battle back in games when they find themselves behind in the early going. He gave credit but also emphasized how detrimental it is to be in those situations so frequently.

“Yeah, I am. I'm very pleased at how we respond," Pederson said. "You don't want to be down 10, but there's two weeks in a row we've been down 10, but we've responded. The fact that we did what we did at the end to tie the football game is pretty remarkable considering the amount of injuries we had late in the game. So that part of it was good and now we’ve just, somehow, got to get that to translate to the first play of the game and then carry on from there.”

A change in the Jaguars early success could be on the horizon this week as they will travel up north to play the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2). Despite gradually improving throughout the season, the Eagles have not scored a point in the first quarter all year.

Regardless of it being a road game, this matchup will be a great chance for the Jaguars to get out to an early lead and be able to control the game, something they have not been able to do all season.

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