A bad season for the Jacksonville Jaguars continues to get worse. The team sits at 2-11 after a shutout loss on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, marking the first time Jacksonville has been held off the scoreboard since 2009. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans have the same record, and the Detroit Lions have just one win on the season, but both seem to be on more positive trajectories than this Jags squad.
It’s for that reason that they maintain the bottom spot on the USA TODAY Sports NFL power rankings from Nate Davis, where they’ve been for the last few weeks. Here’s what Davis had to say about Jacksonville in Week 14.
Rookie QB Trevor Lawrence failed to throw a TD pass in a game twice at Clemson. He’s tripled that figure this year in Jacksonville, which just suffered its first shutout in 12 years. But, please, don’t blame Urban Meyer.
Lawrence’s stagnated development is one of the main concerns about the way this season has played out, and though his game on Sunday was an outlier as he threw four interceptions after taking care of the ball fairly well in recent outings, it showed that he hasn’t improved much as the season has gone on.
For a head coach who is known for his offensive acumen and quarterback development, specifically, it would be hard not to blame Meyer, even if that were the only negative. Unfortunately for the Jags, it isn’t the only negative.
Based on several reports, including an especially damning one from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Meyer has lost the locker room and alienated many of his players and staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball. What has happened this year in Jacksonville isn’t sustainable, and we could be looking at wholesale changes this offseason.
