By Hays Carlyon
The Jaguars have played a bad football team and a mediocre one.
They have been outscored 60-34.
The Jaguars have faced a double-digit deficit for virtually the entire second half of both outings. Denver took a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter of Sunday’s 23-13 win over the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field.
The Jaguars aren’t going to be a good football team.
They aren’t even going to be an average football team.
The Jaguars brought in Urban Meyer, Trevor Lawrence and a bevy of free agents and other draft picks, but the 1-15 stink from last season still lingers.
This team just isn’t much better.
When will the first win come? There isn’t an obvious answer as the 17-game losing streak will only grow.
We’ve got 15 more games left to endure and, at best, maybe four wins to look forward to this season.
So, now we must celebrate growth. Small strides that might not often show up on the final scoreboard.
Expecting this team to win consistently is only going to lead to constant disappointment.
I was hoping Meyer’s first year wouldn’t be a rebuilding year. I was hoping for at least seven wins with Lawrence arriving.
I was wrong.
I’m encouraged by Lawrence, despite his poor performance Sunday. The rookie got off to a great start, leading an 11-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. Lawrence connected on a 25-yard scoring strike to Marvin Jones. He converted all three third-down situations on the drive.
But, that was it. The Jaguars offense disappeared after that, finishing with a pathetic 189 yards on 50 plays.
The Jaguars run defense was strong for the second consecutive game. However, they haven’t bothered either opponent’s passing attack.
That’s concerning considering they have faced Houston’s Tyrod Taylor and Denver’s Teddy Bridgewater. The two have combined to complete 70.1 percent of their passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a sparking 118.9 passer rating.
The Jaguars still will face, barring injury, the following quarterbacks: Arizona’s Kyler Murray (Sunday), Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill (twice), Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford.
Meyer was quick to thank the fans that attended the game at his postgame press conference. He said the team felt them help the defense after the Jaguars opened a quick 7-0 lead.
“I just want to thank our Jaguar fans,” Meyer said. “It’s been a long haul in Jacksonville. But we appreciate them being here. … Don’t give up on us. Hang in there with us. We’re going to get better. Go to sleep knowing there’s not going to be any group work harder to get this thing flipped.”
Meyer will face the toughest challenge of his career when it comes to on-field adversity. His demeanor during the next few months will be fascinating to watch. Can he hold this team — and himself — together?
“There’s a lot of fight in this team,” Meyer said. “There’s 15 games left and my goal, our goal, is to have the strongest locker room that you can possibly have. I feel like it’s extremely strong right now. Players are pissed. Players want to win. Players are sticking together. That’s the best part of our team, the best part of our organization right now is what’s in that locker room.”
This is going to be a slow build. Slower than I would’ve liked.
But as long as I’m seeing growth over these final 15 games, I’ll remain hopeful.
I’m not expecting much now. So, stop disappointing me.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).
