Jaguar Report

Social Media Reacts to Jaguars' Week 1 Collapse

The Jacksonville Jaguars will start the 2024 season 0-1 after a loss to the Miami Dolphins in Hard Rock Stadium. What did social media have to say?

Michael France

Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is sacked by Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (91) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is sacked by Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (91) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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It seemed like the Jacksonville Jaguars were on their way to a 1-0 start against the Miami Dolphins. The Jaguars were moving the ball effectively and the Dolphins defense seemingly had no answers for the balance of physical run game and vertical passing attack.

And then the momentum took a massive shift was running back Travis Etienne, strides away from the endzone, fumbled the ball. The Dolphins recovered. The Jaguars were unable to recover.

The Jaguars would lose on a 53-yard Jason Sanders field goal as time expired, 20-17.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, the reaction was one of confusion and disbelief.

Fans found it hard to swallow the collapse.

There was plenty of blame to go around.

Accusations of the same old Jaguars surfaced.

Our John Shipley wrote that he believed the game proved the Jaguars as a playoff team, nonetheless.

"If you could sum up the Jaguars' 2023 season in a singular game, it would be like watching this game. The Jaguars looked so much like the team we saw last season, both in positive and negative ways," Shipley wrote. "They flashed a ton of potential on both sides of the ball and had young players step up in big ways against a legitimate playoff team. But once again, it wasn't enough. The story of the Jaguars for each of the last two seasons has been an inability to finish teams off.

"This crept up again on Sunday, with the Jaguars passing up on several chances to put the Dolphins away and run away with the game. Instead, self-inflicted wounds led the Jaguars to another loss in a winnable game. Until they buck this trend, this is who they are."

As for the aforementioned social media blame on head coach Doug Pederson, Shipley question who was playcalling.

"If Doug Pederson doesn't want any more questions about the play-calling then, well, Sunday went as bad as it could have possibly gone," Shipley wrote. "The Jaguars' offense looked fantastic in the first half, with Trevor Lawrence having an efficient half, the run game working, and Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis both finding holes in the Dolphins' defense.

"The Jaguars got shut out in the second half, however, and only had one even semi-positive drive in six chances. The Jaguars punted four times, turned it over on fourth-down, and had Travis Etienne fumble the ball in the end zone on a drive that could have put away the game. Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor aren't the ones who fumbled the ball, and they also didn't have key drops like Evan Engram and Christian Kirk."

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Michael France

MICHAEL FRANCE