The Jacksonville Jaguars put themselves on the map in Doug Pederson's first year with the team in 2022.

Based on what we saw from Trevor Lawrence in his sophomore season, the Jags' rise isn't going anywhere. They've got one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, a championship-proven play-caller, and a loaded array of weapons.

The challenge? They play in the same conference as the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and Buffalo Bills.

Add to that other talented AFC teams looking to take a step forward like the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Jets. But those three teams mentioned above have been around for multiple years.

And there's one very specific stat that proves one thing the Jaguars must improve on to beat the AFC's "Big 3:" Percentage of drives that scored points when losing in the second half.

In other words, how good is the offense when the team is down late? 

NFL analyst Warren Sharp ranked the 32 teams in the league per this number and while the Jaguars ranked 7th-highest in the league, the difference between them and the Big 3 is significant.

1. Bengals, 68%
2. Chiefs, 59%
3. Bills, 53%
–
7. Jaguars, 48%

Nitpicking? You betcha.

The Jaguars became one of the best offenses in the NFL last year and they rank very positively in the above statistic. But it still goes to show how high the bar is in the AFC. And it goes to show that if Jacksonville is to advance deeper into the playoffs, they'll have to turn up the "clutch" knob just enough.

Naturally, it's a stat that looks mostly at the passing offense of teams as they're likelier to throw in such scenarios.

Against the teams they're likely to face in the postseason, it will be the difference between winning and going home.

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Featured image via Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports