By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I’ll be honest; this is not the time of year I expected to be doing a Jacksonville Jaguars “year in review” article. In previous years, sure. Perfect timing.

But after last year’s record-setting come-from-behind playoff win over the Chargers, followed by the closer-than-most-people-expected loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Chiefs, I honestly expected to be doing this in late January, maybe -if we dared to dream- mid-February. That’s the kind of expectations Jag Nation had coming into the 2023 season.

Those dreams were still within reach late in the season. After 11 games, the boys in teal were 8-3 overall and in first place in the AFC South with a 4-1 divisional record. Looking pretty strong.

That’s when the wheels came off.

Going into their first Monday Night Football game since 2011, the Jags were ready to fly high. Instead, the inevitable Duval crash occurred.

The Bengals, a week removed from losing superstar QB Joe Burrow for the season, beat Jacksonville 34-30 in overtime. Worse still was the ankle injury suffered by QB Trevor Lawrence that would arguably hinder his performance for the rest of the season.

This would be the first of four straight losses. Defeats at the hands of the Browns, Ravens, and Buccaneers not only had fans questioning their team’s playoff readiness but left the Jags on the brink of missing the playoffs.

The 27-0 thrashing of the hapless Panthers was satisfying, but the final week playoff-denying loss to the hated Tennessee Titans was a true gut punch to the Duval faithful. Almost but not quite as bad as 1999.

With the postseason suddenly no longer on the agenda, GM Trent Baalke wasted no time in firing Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell and his entire staff.

This was an understandable move, considering the defense allowed 28 or more points in four of the five stretch-run losses, wrapping up the season.

On top of the late-season collapse, the end-of-season stats didn’t do Caldwell any favors either. Defensively, the Jags came in 22nd in the league in Total Defense, 26th in yards allowed, 25th in scoring, and 17th in points allowed. Not playoff-worthy numbers, much less for a team that had Lombardi aspirations to start the year.

The defense, although aptly receiving most of the blame, are not by themselves. Trevor Lawrence made some big strides over last season, throwing for 4,000 yards and 21 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw 14 interceptions – nine of which came in his last 5 games, and quite often while playing from behind.

His high ankle sprain and an additional shoulder injury down the stretch were more than likely contributors to that troubling stat.

Calvin Ridley in his first year back from a gambling suspension made his first season with the Jaguars a fairly productive one. He hauled in 8 TDs on 76 receptions and a little over 1,000 yards. Shy of what most were expecting, but nothing to sneeze at either.

TE Evan Engram, although limited to only 4 trips to the end zone, had a massive year with 114 catches and less than 40 yards from a 1,000 season.

Starting RB Travis Etienne was another bright spot, cracking the thousand-yard mark on the final week of the season, adding another 400+ in the passing game.

Offseason concerns include replacing the defensive coaching staff primarily and upgrading the offensive line to cut down on the ridiculous 35 sacks allowed this year.

And, of course, anything to make Trevor’s life (and ours) easier.