There is no sugarcoating the fact the Jacksonville Jaguars are standing on the edge of a cliff, teetering on an imminent death march to the 2024 season.
At 1-5, with confidence and signs of legitimate fight in short supply, nothing short of a Lazarus-like rise from the ashes can salvage this debacle.
The situation is so alarming that almost everybody outside these core players — Trevor Lawrence, Travon Walker, Josh Hines-Allen, Anton Harrison, Maason Smith, Tyson Campbell, Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, Logan Cooke, Cam Little and Brian Thomas Jr. — should now be wondering about their future in Jacksonville .
Obviously, the highest job-security alert should be reserved for head coach Doug Pederson , offensive coordinator Press Taylor and defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen , as well as general manager Trent Baalke .
Sunday’s matchup against the 1-5 New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium feels like a potential last call to turn things around for them and many Jaguars employees.
It’s by no means a guarantee that owner Shad Khan would pink-slip Pederson on Monday, or force his third-year head coach to make changes, if they lose to the Patriots and another rookie quarterback in Drake Maye .
But as the losses pile up, with no sign of improvement on the horizon, Khan will find it excruciatingly hard to wait and not take some kind of action.
Khan painted himself into that corner by his “win now” declaration in the offseason, so his patience with what Pederson strongly implied Monday was a losing culture should be running on empty.
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Jaguars’ identity is they lack fire
Cracks in the Jaguars’ fortress were clearly forming after Sunday’s 35-16 rout by the Chicago Bears .
Between safety Andre Cisco ’s “a lot of quit” comment to Action Sports Jax and Lawrence admonishing the team from the podium about being too “fragile” when adversity hits, the question now becomes: How will the Jaguars respond to these cage-rattling judgments?
If they react positively, that should manifest itself by taking care of business against the Patriots, a surprising 5.5-point underdog despite the Jaguars’ hot-garbage display against the Bears.
The big concern if you’re Khan is the Jaguars have given no indication of shaking up anything. Not just in terms of a starter’s job being taken away, but the Jaguars showing some real in-game fire once things go awry.
Seriously, the team’s identity right now is it has none, other than lacking the passion to shake itself out of a colossal funk.
Nobody — not Pederson, his coordinators, Lawrence or anyone else in the locker room — seems to have a viable answer for how to fix the Jaguars.
The Jaguars’ leadership, like their football team, is floundering. A losing culture can’t be wished away. Coaches and players must take the initiative to change it.
How long will Khan wait to act?
Khan is surely not ignoring this malaise, but the owner has given no indication of when he might feel compelled to take some kind of stand. That is, something beyond giving a vote of confidence to Pederson and Baalke that only looks superficial as losses mount.
The current ceiling for this team looks no higher than 6-11, and that might be a stretch, given what it has put on tape and the remaining schedule.
Indisputably, the Jaguars are a talented and deeply flawed football team. Something is amiss, and it’s on Pederson more than anyone to come up with a solution to alter the course of this season.
But if Jacksonville loses to the Patriots and retains possession of the NFL’s worst record , then Khan owes it to the Jaguars’ fan base to start the process of hitting a reset button. Possibly with an official pink slip, or at least a public rebuke that indicates he likely won’t be waiting for Black Monday on Jan. 6 to act.
The Jaguars are undeniably the most disappointing team in the NFL. If they can’t do something immediately to change course, the owner would be justified in bringing the hammer down on the people he hired to win now.
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Khan can see there’s no greater underachieving team in the NFL right now than Jacksonville. That predicament will only be exacerbated by losing to a New England team guided by a rookie head coach, Jerod Mayo , and a rookie QB making his second start.
If the Jaguars can’t find it in their heart to fix this mess, a lot of people will soon rightfully find themselves unemployed.
World Series trivia
In Major League Baseball history, which manager has won the most World Series titles without losing? Answer at the bottom.
Ridley disappearing act
Whatever misgivings the Jaguars might have had in March about losing top receiver Calvin Ridley to their AFC South nemesis Tennessee Titans, any regret is gone.
Part of it is surely the struggles of Titans quarterback Will Levis , but Ridley, 29, has only two catches for 14 yards in the past three games, easily the worst stretch of his career.
Despite being targeted eight times in last week’s 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he had no receptions, an astounding stat line.
For a receiver Tennessee handed a four-year, $92 million contract ($50 million guaranteed), having nine catches for 141 yards in five games isn’t giving Tennessee much bang for the buck. Drafting Thomas with the No. 17 overall pick and losing Ridley was one of the few offseason transactions that worked out for Baalke.
Mertz a point of light for Gators
Before Graham Mertz took a snap for Florida’s football team in 2023, ex-Gators quarterback Shane Matthews insisted to me from watching 2023 spring practice that the Wisconsin transfer would be a better QB than many of his critics suggested.
UF fans weren’t exactly doing cartwheels when Billy Napier brought Mertz aboard, but the truth is he has been one of the biggest points of light for a struggling program.
So when Mertz suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in his left knee last Saturday in a 23-17 overtime loss at Tennessee, it felt like the cruelest form of injustice.
While Florida might have only had a 7-9 record in his starts, Mertz’s production wasn’t lacking. He completed 333 of 452 passes (73.7 percent) for 3,694 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. If UF’s defense had performed anything close to that, Napier's job wouldn’t be in jeopardy.
Mertz also handled the quarterback-sharing duties with rising star DJ Lagway in about as classy a manner as possible.
Here’s what Lagway’s father, Derek Lagway Sr. , posted in a message to Mertz on X beyond praying for his recovery: “We appreciate everything you have shown and taught DJ! You have been a great leader and a Blessing to him! Thank you for mentoring my son and supporting him! We have nothing but love for you and your family!”
Though Mertz’s career at Florida might have ended with a terrible injury, his impact on the Gators won’t soon be forgotten. A tip of the hat to a quarterback who did things the right way.
Johnson has Lions’ offense humming
With the Detroit Lions leading the NFL in scoring at a robust 30.2 points per game, it’s no surprise that 38-year-old coordinator Ben Johnson continues to be a fan favorite of every team thinking it will be in the market for a head coach in 2025.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Johnson, a walk-on quarterback at North Carolina who never took a college snap, since he began as a quality control coach with the Lions in 2019 under former head coach Matt Patricia .
Johnson has been promoted three times, making a huge name for himself in 2022 as the offensive coordinator when Detroit’s offense jumped from 19.1 points per game the previous year to 26.7. The Jaguars got a close-up glimpse of the Lions’ potency in Pederson’s first season with the Jaguars when the Lions rolled them 40-14 at Ford Field, led by Jared Goff throwing for 337 yards.
Many thought Johnson would get a head coaching job last offseason, but he elected to stay with the Lions. His success makes it seem almost preordained that somebody hires Johnson after this season. You can bet a lot of Jaguars’ fans will be pining for him the way the current season is going.
Quick-hitting nugget
Illinois receiver Pat Bryant , an Atlantic Coast High product, is having a productive senior season with 27 catches for 452 yards and seven touchdowns in six games. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound wideout projects as a late-round pick or preferred free agent for the 2025 draft, according to Dane Brugler , draft analyst for The Athletic. ...
World Series trivia
Current Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has won four World Series championships, three with the San Francisco Giants (2010, ‘12 and ‘14) and one with the Rangers (2023), without ever losing.
Pigskin forecast
Jaguars over New England Patriots by 4 (pink-slip delays); Green Bay Packers over Houston Texans by 3 (Love-lights); Indianapolis Colts over Miami Dolphins by 3 (quarterback dilemmas); Buffalo Bills over Tennessee Titans by 10 (letdown remedies); San Francisco 49ers over Kansas City Chiefs by 1 (cold dish of revenge); Florida over Kentucky by 3 (QB sneak tutorials); Louisville over Miami by 1 (Clemson thank-you note).
Last week: 4 right, 3 Nick Sirianni public relations tips.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (9040 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars must beat Patriots or face harsh consequences | Gene Frenette
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