REPORT: The No. 1 Challenge the Jaguars Will Face in 2024

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to re-capture the magic of their 8-3 start last season. They just need to close the season better. What will be their biggest challenge in 2024?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars want to build off what was a successful 2022 campaign under head coach Doug Pederson. A playoff berth and a playoff win. Last season, the Jaguars matched their 2022 regular season record at 9-8. It was a completely different ending.

A red hot 8-3 start and the look of a team ready to compete deep into the playoffs quickly fell apart. Pederson is on the hot seat heading into 2024, but the Jaguars got better as a team this offseason. Drafting wide receiver Brian Davis Jr. and signing Gabe Davis gave more targets to Trevor Lawrence.

Bolstering the offensive line and bringing on defensive coordinator Ryan Nielson was a big upgrade.

That being said, the Jaguars will face their fair share of challenges this season. NFL.com's Eric Edholm wrote that the Jaguars' No. 1 challenge will be "achieving consistency." Given how 2022 and 2023 shook out, that is a fair sentiment.

"Entering last season, the Jaguars were viewed as up-and-comers, much in the same vein as this year’s Texans," Edholm wrote. "The Jags were on the rise, thanks to a 7-2 finish and two highly competitive playoff performances in the 2022 campaign. They mostly backed that hype up in 2023 by starting the season with an 8-3 mark. But that’s when everything fell apart, as they dropped five of six to fall from the playoff field. So which team is this? That’s the roller-coaster reality staring Doug Pederson, Trevor Lawrence and Josh Hines-Allen in the face. Jacksonville's offense and defense both must find ways to prevent such wild swings in performance from one month to the next."

A successful season for the Jaguars will look like what our John Shipley described in a recent Jaguars Mailbag. It is simple: a playoff berth must be made.

"I truly believe the Jaguars' true goal for this season is to play in the post-season," Shipley wrote. "I don't think it matters if it is another 9-8 playoff season, but I do think the Jaguars are looking for enough success to be playing meaningful games in the playoffs. If the Jaguars go 9-8 and miss the postseason, though, I do think there could be jobs on the line."

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