Trevor Lawrence has brutal quote on the state of the Jaguars
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to be celebrating as they head into Christmas with total control of their playoff position in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a different story. Despite starting the season hot, the Jags have cooled off dramatically over the back half of the season, and the loss today has […]
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to be celebrating as they head into Christmas with total control of their playoff position in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a different story.
Despite starting the season hot, the Jags have cooled off dramatically over the back half of the season, and the loss today has put an extra level of pressure into the AFC South playoff race.
No one looked good in the Christmas Eve showing for Jacksonville, and Trevor Lawrence had a brutal but correct take on the current state of his team.
When you look at the implications, that was probably the worst type of loss the Jags could suffer.
The Bucs are far from world-beaters. The Jags have a good defense, a better quarterback, and a much better coaching staff. Tampa has struggled with its identity this season and hasn't even been all that convincing in the worst division in football.
None of that mattered.
Tampa took control of that game and never looked back. Lawrence is absolutely right to say what he did, himself included in that bunch.
Sure, injuries have been a problem, but getting dominated by the Bucs is a hard thing to accept for a play-off hopeful team, especially now that Tom Brady is no longer with them and the team is saddled with dead cap space.
The Jags weren't able to accomplish the smallest things on either side of the ball-the only exception being shutting down Tampa's run game, but every team is able to do that to some degree.
However, Baker Mayfield put on a clinic throwing the ball and Tampa's defense was able to dominate Jacksonville for the better part of the bout, showing a clear lack of planning, and that isn't even mentioning the poor fundamentals on both sides of the ball.
Only being able to score garbage time touchdowns against a team that has been gouged by rookies and backups regularly this season is certainly not a good look.
One way or another, this game is going to end up being one of those points that you look back on in the grand scheme of this season. Either the Jags use this as a wakeup call and right the ship, or this is likely where many will say the season officially died.
Lawrence's quote is a good place to start, but none of this truly starts to change unless the team takes this to heart and puts a chip on their shoulder.
Maybe this ends up working for the better in the long run, but this sure does feel like a low point for a team that started the year off so strong.
Jaguars’ Friday injury report for Week 16 vs. Buccaneers
The Jaguars play the Buccaneers on Sunday.
