Jacksonville’s Divisional Loss in Kansas City
JT: One Hell of a Ride
Growing up outside of Washington DC, I’ve been a Redskins fan since birth (the Redskins no longer exist though and that’s a miserably sad ‘Daniel Snyder’ story for a different day). I have a few memories of life between the time I entered this world and the time Joe Gibbs took my Washington Redskins to the playoffs in 1987. For all intents and purposes, however, my biggest and earliest football memories were of that 1987 season. The NFC playoff game was between the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings, and it was the most important football game of my life. You see, I knew that if the Redskins won, I was going to the Super Bowl in San Diego. Jack Murphy Stadium (The Jack) was my destination and all the boys in burgundy and gold had to do was punch my ticket. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t remember what, if any, point I was driving to with this “Piano Man-esque,” play me a memory type opening, but here we are and I’m not deleting it. Ahh wait, I do have a point. The only play I remember in that entire NFC Championship game was the last one. A diving Darrell Green knocked down the final pass, right at the goal line, to send the Redskins and little old me to Super Bowl XXII. My point (I think) is that while I don’t come away from this Jacksonville/Kansas City loss as happy as that very handsome child was in 1987, knowing he was going to the Super Bowl, I do come away from this Jags/Chiefs game knowing that Jacksonville will be going to a Super Bowl sooner rather than later.
This Jacksonville Jaguars team is different from the one of 2017. This team has a solid, young, and humble core of players at positions that matter most when it comes to a deep playoff run. Yes, this Jags team is over the salary cap next year. Yes, Shaq Griffin’s departure will help shed some dolla dolla bills, but with the (fingers crossed with this whole upcoming reinstatement) addition of Calvin Ridley at WR1, that cushion will be gone. However, after a couple big off-season restructuring parties at the Shad Pad, the JAX brass and their moneyball boys should be able to figure out how to keep the majority of this team together for years to come. A huge difference between this Jaguars team and those of the past, even the few successful ones, is that for the first time since inception, great players now want to play for Jacksonville. DeAndre Hopkins and Jalen Ramsey are both pro-bowlers and both want to be in a teal uniform next season. Evan Engram and Arden Key bet on themselves with one-year contracts this past season and they want to come back to Jacksonville next year. Did you see Brent Martineau’s post game interview with Evan Engram? My man was near tears. He was at a loss for words. It was tough for him to even explain how much this team, this organization, this city means to him. Best year of his life, he said. That’s never been heard before in Jacksonville. All of this is amazing for a team that had four total wins in two entire seasons. But this year… this year they were, inexplicably, one fumble or one dropped pass or one dropped interception away from playing in the AFC Championship game. I say ‘inexplicable’ because at the beginning of the season, 6 wins would have been considered a successful season. Extreme and total turnarounds like this rarely, if ever, happen overnight, even though this extreme and total turn around actually happened overnight. Again, it may seem as if I’ve lost my point, but this is where I wow you and bring it back around (one sec while I re-read this paragraph to make sure I don’t let you down). Okay let’s see if you’ll buy this.
Why is it that all of these players suddenly want to play for JAX? Is it because they started winning? Is it because they won the AFC South? Is it because they dominated the Chargers in an amazing playoff comeback and then took Kansas City to the mat in Arrowhead, coming oh so close to playing for an AFC Championship? No! It’s not because of any of these things. It’s 100% because of the underlying reason for all of these positives. In life there is a cause and an effect. There is a consequence for every decision. The Jacksonville Jaguars AFC South championship, home playoff win, and divisional playoff game are all results stemming from one single decision. The single biggest football decision ever made by owner Shad Khan changed the trajectory of this entire organization and city. Jacksonville hired Head Coach Doug Pederson. You may have the puzzle pieces but without the right leader to correctly put them together you will never have a completed picture. Well, JAX faithful, you have that now. Get ready because your core players are young, impressive, and most importantly, they play for each other and not themselves. The mentality in Jacksonville has done a 180. A 10-win season, AFC South championship, playoff birth, is now the floor for this team. They are expectations now. Jacksonville’s window for success is open wide, and it’s a large window ladies and gentlemen. Strap in Jacksonville, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
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