Jaguars: Wild Card Wrap-up

JT: I have no words

We’ve got to start this column with a GIANT tip of the cap to the Jacksonville Jaguars defense. They were outstanding Saturday night against Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers. They were the reason the Jaguars were never out of the game. Most other defenses would have folded after their quarterback threw four interceptions and the special teams turned it over a fifth time. Jacksonville was staring a -5 turnover differential square in the face. Trevor Lawrence did the Jaguars defense absolutely no favors through practically the entirety of the first half. Almost every other team, in the history of teams, would have gone into halftime down more than that poor schmuck who bet $1.4 million for LA to win the game. As an aside, it has literally taken me 30 minutes to write this paragraph so far. Not to be modest, it’s not because I’m not a phenomenal writer (can I put more negatives in one sentence?). I’ve had trouble with this column because putting into words what actually happened last night at TIAA Bank Field is inexplicable. It’s impossible to put into words. I can drop stat after jaw dropping stat, and yes, those will blow your mind. Numbers alone, however, can not convey the greatness, the amazingness, the truly glorious comeback orchestrated by Jacksonville’s Jaguars. It was a win that never should have been. A win literally difficult to comprehend. As the saying goes, I will believe it when I see it with my own eyes. Well, I saw it with my own eyes and I’m still having trouble believing how something like that can happen. Let’s paint you a picture.

It was a cold and scary night in Jacksonville, Florida. My toes have yet to fully thaw and the tips of my ear lobes, that peak out beneath my “Brent and Friends” knit cap, are surely frost bitten. I’m not exaggerating friends, it was Buffalo married Green Bay and had a baby in February type cold. Have you seen the kids movie “Frozen?” Yeah, Elsa’s got nothing on JAX. Everyone was tanked out of their minds, as all of the tailgating lots opened in the early afternoon. The crowd took a little longer to meander into The Bank than last week against the Titans, but once that opening kick-off flew through the frigid air, the seats were packed and the white towels were waiving. The crowd was extremely loud… until Trevor’s first pass. It was intercepted. Thus began the downfall of the Jacksonville Jaguars offense. I would assume that T-Law wanted to make things interesting, which is why he decided to try and force throws. He managed three more interceptions. At one point I think Trevor had an equal number of completions to both teams. Tangent time: This afternoon, in line at the local Publix checkout, the cashier asked a husband and wife if they went to the game last night. The husband replied, “yes” to which the cashier asked, “did you stay the entire game?” I watched the wife smirk and exclaim, “well some of us did,” as she looked disappointingly at her husband who left before halftime when the score was 27-0. You’re gonna need to turn in that man card, please.

This column is taking a while to write. It is now hours later and I think it’s time to throw some stats your way. I want to give you an idea of just how magical this Jaguars win actually was. Puff the Dragon and David Copperfield can’t hold a candle. Those who left at 27-0 will forever be kicking themselves, right in the nuggets. Your Jaguars starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, had himself a career worst half of football. He was 10/24 for 77 yards, 1 TD/4 INTs and a passer rating of 24.5. That’s about twice as bad as you and I would have performed against the Chargers. During the break, it’s apparent that Trevor read the JaguarsTalk Halftime Speech column because my man came out guns a blazin’. T-Law was 18 for 23 for 211 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, and a sky-high passer rating of 144.5. That turnaround is the thing of which Hollywood movies are made. Someone more important than I, please get in touch with Asher Grodman, of CBS “Ghosts” fame, and get the ball rolling on this idea. My man can wear a blonde wig and grow about 8 inches taller. I don’t care who gets cast as long as I get to play Dewey. #42 is my spirit animal. Let’s give a big thank you to @KahunaMed for shining some light on the side of the ball that actually won the game for Jacksonville, the defense. #41 and the boys kept T-Law in the game. The Chargers went up 7-0 after Trevor threw an INT and left our defense with a very short field to defend. LA went up 10-0 while JAX held Herbert and the Chargers offense to a field goal in the red zone. It was 17-0 after Lawrence threw another INT leaving the Jaguars defense with yet another short field. The score then jumped to 24-0 after, you guessed it, a third Trevor Lawrence interception. Finally, 27-0 after Trevor’s final interception. INT after INT. I sound like a broken record (mainly because I can’t read like a broken record). 

By looking at the score it sure doesn’t look like the Jaguars defense played well at all. Upon closer inspection, brother they were hung out to dry the entire half, yet they stood up to LA’s offensive onsalught. An average defense would have trotted into the locker room down 35 or 42 points. It was an amazing defensive showing by JAX. In addition, when Trevor decided to throw the ball to his own team, the Jags defense held the Chargers to a whopping three points in the entire second half of the game. This Jacksonville defense is who we thought they would be when they were assembled this past off-season. Additionally, this 27-point Jacksonville comeback was the third largest in NFL playoff history, and the biggest in Jaguars history. Adding to the accolades, it is the first time in the history of the National Football League that a team who finished dead last went on to win a playoff game the following year. This next stat might be reaching a bit, but it is the first time ever that a team has come back from such a deficit without forcing a turnover. And finally, this game marks the first time in the history of the NFL that a team has had a minus five turnover margin and won a playoff game. Impressive as it may be, in order for most of these stats to blow your mind, the Jags had to post the worst half of football ever played, on any level, including the lingerie league. So to buck the trend, here is a stat (thanks to Demetrius Harvey) that didn’t require Trevor Lawrence to hit rock bottom first. Jamal Agnew, the special teams phenom, recorded 134 yards on four kick-off returns, averaging 33.5 yards per return. That’s how you win a field position game that helped the Jags offense dominate the Chargers in the second half. Can we afford to let this guy walk next year? Speaking of keeping guys on the first coast, Evan Engram had a hell of a game as well. I feel like I’ve written this several times before, but the Jags brass is going to have to throw a rager of a restructuring party this offseason. I’ll bring the punch. 

I have dragged out the typing of this column so much so that we now know the Jags will be traveling to Kansas City (Missouri not Kansas, because that would make too much sense) to take on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Jacksonville has already lost once this season at Arrowhead. Miami teased Duval with the possibility of hosting another home game but then they pooped the bed leaving the outcome between the Ravens and Macaulay Culkin’s team insignificant. Spoiler alert, Kevin McCallister and the rest of the Bengals pulled out the victory against Baltimore, with an amazing fumble recovery that nobody saw coming. Needless to say, every AFC wildcard playoff game thus far has been exciting and close. This pumped us up about the prospect of another Jacksonville home play-off game, before brutally crushing our hopes and dreams as we head-off to face one of the two teams that thoroughly dominated us this regular season. We were in every game, every week, save for two, the Lions of Detroit and the team captained by everyone's favorite jazz bath quarterback. So, Patty Mahomes, like a good neighbor, Jacksonville’s there (I know you sang that last line, and if you didn’t, you just did. I can’t fault you, it’s a catchy jingle.). Or at least they will be, this Saturday at 4:30pm. Looks like the Jaguars will reach New Heights by clawing their way through this post season one Kelce brother at a time (see what I did there).

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