Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence lunges for yardage under Buffalo Bills linebacker Dorian Williams (42) on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. | AP Photo/Adrian Kraus
Published on September 23, 2024 at 10:42 pm
Jacksonville Today seeks to include a diverse set of perspectives that add context or unique insight to the news of the day. Regular opinion columnists are independent contractors who are not involved in news decisions. Want to submit your own column on a matter of public interest? Email pitches to jessica@jaxtoday.org.
It started badly and it never got better.
The Jaguars fell behind 13-0 after the first quarter and lost 47-10 to the Bills in Buffalo, dropping the season record to 0-3.
After the Bills scored a touchdown on three straight drives, the Jaguars converted on fourth and short on a Trevor Lawrence sneak. On the following play, Lawrence overthrew Brian Thomas Jr. and was intercepted by Damar Hamlin. With 4:13 to play in the first half, the game was, for all intents and purposes, over.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
If it wasn’t at that point, Josh Allen’s touchdown pass to Kalil Shakir made it a 27-3 game and the two-minute warning still hadn’t arrived. Allen proceeded to throw another touchdown pass. The Jaguars went to the halftime locker room down by 31.
Fans were posting tickets for future Jaguars games for sale.
On the Jaguars’ first possession of the second half, Lawrence connected with tight end Brenton Strange for a touchdown.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The Bills scored on their first six possessions. They finally punted with twelve minutes left in the game.
Mac Jones made his Jaguars’ debut in the fourth quarter as Lawrence was pulled from the game with the outcome no longer in doubt.
Where do the Jaguars stand now?
Only one NFL team since 2000 has started 0-3 and made the playoffs, so history is against them. In a season with postseason expectations, the Jaguars now look more like a team that could be picking very high in the draft next April. Again.
The playoff heroics of 2022 seem like a decade ago.
Since halftime of the season opener against Miami, the Jaguars have scored two touchdowns in 10 quarters of play. Pass protection has struggled. Lawrence has not settled into any kind of rhythm.
Defensively, the Jaguars were unable to consistently slow down the Bills’ offense. Allen finished the game completing 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns. He was watching from the sideline for most of the fourth quarter.
Can the Jaguars be fixed? Yes. But there is no margin for error. It must begin with next week’s game in Houston against the division-favorite Texans. Any chance to make this season memorable must begin with a win. And the Jaguars will have to contend with a short week. After returning to Jacksonville in the early morning hours, the team must prepare to travel on Saturday for Sunday’s game.
They will also have to overcome the injuries in the secondary, rush the passer better, protect the quarterback better and, yes, Lawrence must play better. He is not living up to the massive contract he signed this offseason.
This is the kind of season that can cost a head coach his job. Make no mistake, the seat under Doug Pederson is warm and getting hotter by the week.
Cole Pepper has covered sports in Jacksonville since 1996, most recently for News4Jax. He is currently broadcast director for Sporting Club Jacksonville and has called play-by-play for a number of teams, including the Suns, Tomcats, Jacksonville University, Sharks and The Bolles School football. He also served as the studio host for the Jaguars Radio Network.
