What Were the Biggest Surprises of the Jaguars' 2023 Season?

From the primetime and home losses to breakout performances, what were the biggest surprises of the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2023 season?

The Struggles at Home

One of the biggest shocks of the Jaguars’ 2023 season was the team’s struggles at home. In 2022, Jacksonville thrived in its own environment, finishing with a thrilling 5-2 record at Everbank Stadium. Just one year later, it would be almost the complete opposite as the Jags would end the season 3-5 when playing true home games.

This past season was personal to many fans as it was the first time many would see a home primetime game, much less two in a single season. It was the team’s first Monday Night Football game since 2011 and the first Sunday night game the franchise had hosted since 2008.

Fans were geared up for what could have been, and honestly should have been, two of the best games ever played at Everbank. Unfortunately, the matchups resulted in an overtime loss to a Jake Browning-led Bengals team and a 23-7 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. Throw in some brutal losses to the Chiefs, Texans, and Niners; fans certainly saw some bad football at home this season.

Anton Harrison

What a rookie season for Anton Harrison! Harrison got his “Welcome to the NFL” moment early on, facing Chiefs’ Chris Jones in the second week of the season. Harrison took the lost battle in stride and learned from it, turning in a fantastic rest of his rookie season.

Harrison faced many of the league’s top edge rushers and held his own, fending off the likes of T.J. Watt, Chase Young, Nick Bosa and more. No matter the opposition, Harrison handled business. He finished as the Jaguars' best pass-blocker and best in his rookie class as well.

On the season, Harrison allowed 27 pressures and five sacks on 701 pass-block snaps. His pass-block efficiency of 97.6 was T-9th among all offensive tackles. The Jaguars have found themselves their franchise right tackle.

Run Game Woes

You hate to beat a dead horse, but the Jaguars’ ineptitude at running the football is truly astonishing. Last season, the team ran the ball with ease as Travis Etienne ran all over defenses to the tune of 1,125 yards, averaging 5.1 yards a clip.

While his overall production only saw a slight dip in total rushing yards, the team’s efficiency plummeted. Etienne averaged just 3.8 yards per carry in 2023 and Jacksonville’s EPA/Rush ranked 29th in the league. It was a fall from grace, lowlighted by the team’s putrid run-blocking. The Jaguars were stuffed on 24% of rushes, dead last in the NFL.

While there is certainly plenty of blame to go around, the offense’s inability to run the football ended up dragging down what should have been a much better unit, forcing the hand of both play caller and quarterback.

Travon Walker

Travon Walker fans were few and far between after a disappointing rookie campaign, amassing just 3.5 sacks on the season. I don’t think anyone foresaw what would come next. Travon Walker, along with fellow edge rusher Josh Allen, would end up leading the league in sacks as a duo with 27.5.

While Allen certainly got the majority of the praise, rightfully so, for his franchise-record 17.5 sacks, Walker turned in a fantastic second season, finishing with a double-digit sack season himself. Walker was also credited with 59 pressures on the season, a noticeable uptick from his 36 pressures in 2022.

The Jaguars will certainly look to ink Allen to a massive deal, locking in the Jaguars’ duo as one of the league’s best young pass-rushing duos.The consistency isn’t quite there but the future is bright. As we all know, the sky's the limit for Walker; his 9.99 Relative Athletic Score is proof enough of that. Let’s see just how high he can reach in 2024.

Defensive Collapse

Halfway through the season, the Jaguars’ defense looked to be among the NFL’s best, leading the league in turnovers. The turnovers soon became less frequent and were quickly replaced by missed tackles and missed assignments.

The Jaguars’ defense certainly had bright spots. Allen, Walker, Darious Williams, Foye Oluokun and Devin Lloyd all had solid seasons. However, the sum of the parts was greater than the whole in the Jaguars’ case. Injuries and holes in the secondary and on the defensive line would ultimately be the unit’s downfall.

Through the first nine weeks of the season, the Jaguars’ defense ranked an impressive 3rd in EPA/Play, later contrasted by its 24th-ranked EPA/Play from Week 10 on. The defense simply fell apart, unable to replicate the turnovers that came so easy earlier in the season in order to help a struggling offense. Hopefully, newly hired defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen can remedy this promising unit.