Gene Frenette: Jaguars winning without crisp offense shows they're legit Super Bowl contenders
PITTSBURGH — Andrew Wingard and K'Lavon Chaisson made it a point after Wingard's fourth-quarter interception to grab some famed “Terrible Towels” from the Acrisure Stadium stands, waving them in euphoria as the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense celebrated behind the team bench.
Part of that scene was fueled as a response to Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens, who decided last week to poke the bear by calling the Jaguars a “hope defense.”
After significant media prodding, Wingard couldn’t resist a pointed dig back at Pickens, saying: “You don’t fire up a bunch of hungry dogs. It’s not smart. So, George, do better.”
Jaguars report card: Defense close to lights-out showing, offense wasted good field position
Honestly, the Jaguars are the ones doing better, going from 0-5 last October to 5-0 this October.
They did more than just send a message to the Steelers and Pickens with their fifth consecutive win, a 20-10 victory that Jacksonville’s sputtering offense made way more difficult than it should have been.
No, Sunday went way beyond getting a sixth win in Jackonville’s last seven trips to Pittsburgh. What the Jaguars did, as they head into the second half of their 2023 schedule, was put out a rather definitive statement to the NFL.
That declaration, in essence, said this: We belong in the Super Bowl conversation whether you want us there or not.
No amount of downplaying the Jaguars’ 6-2 record in the postgame aftermath could cover up the obvious — this team deserves to be talked about as much as anyone not named the Kansas City Chiefs as being the AFC favorite.
And since KC went to Denver and got derailed 24-9 Sunday by the Broncos, falling to 6-2 and into a four-way tie for best record in the AFC, it’d be naïve for anybody to suggest the Jaguars are not a legit player in the Lombardi Trophy hunt.
Defense bails out ho-hum offense
While the Jaguars did their level best to be coy about the Super Bowl contender thing, the NFL standings now say different.
The Jaguars have the same record atop the AFC as the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins. The national media cannot pretend otherwise.
Tight end Evan Engram tried to refrain from black-and-teal horn-tooting, saying: “I’m the last person to want to create sound waves for everybody else to feel us. We got to continue to worry about ourselves and working this locker room and working this team and our building. That’s what got us to this point, not trying to prove other people wrong, doubters or whatever. We don’t really care about that.”
But when asked about the Jaguars’ five-game winning streak, he playfully responded that he wasn’t in the self-promotion business, but was plenty okay with the media messengers doing it.
“That’s what y’all [media] are for,” said Engram. “Y’all go spread the word about what we’re doing, and how good the defense is playing and how the offense can be better, but we’re still making explosive plays. We just got to go out and keep playing, and keep being us.
“People will find out. Just go watch the tape.”
With the franchise's second-best record through eight games, just behind the 1999 team that was 7-1 and finished with the NFL’s best mark at 14-2, the Jaguars sent a clear signal to the league that they can no longer be underestimated or ignored.
Certainly one thing that cannot be overlooked is how the Jaguars’ defense continues to make big plays at the right time. They might give up a lot of yards (26th in the NFL entering Sunday), but opponents keep having a rough time getting into the end zone.
Pittsburgh got there just one time, and that was because on Pickens’ lone catch of the day where he hurdled Wingard and shook off a tackle attempt by Montaric Brown for a 22-yard score to cut the lead to 17-10 late in the third quarter.
Otherwise, the Steelers only crossed midfield four times, the last time in the final seconds with the outcome already decided.
Considering the offense had five penetrations into Steelers territory in the first half — to the 32, 32, 18, 6 and 20 — and came away with only nine points, the Jaguars needed every bit of stinginess from coordinator Mike Caldwell’s defense to keep from giving this game away.
All told, nine drives to Pittsburgh’s side of the field netted 20 points, not the kind of production that will win in the postseason.
“It’s not the recipe, obviously,” said head coach Doug Pederson. “But it’s just a credit to the guys. I mean, they never quit. They keep battling. They keep playing hard, the way the defense has been playing, to keep opponents out of the end zone, too.”
Missing pieces didn’t matter
It’s getting to the point where the Jaguars’ defense just expects to make clutch plays in big moments.
Last week, Brown made his second NFL start at cornerback, replacing injured starter Tyson Campell, and denied a game-tying touchdown pass intended for New Orleans Saints receiver Chris Olave.
Against the Steelers, the secondary stepped up big again. Cornerback Darious Williams had three pass breakups, extending his NFL lead in that category to 14, though he lamented not getting an interception or two. Pittsburgh completed just two passes longer than 14 yards.
Wingard, a special-teams captain, filled in admirably for starting safety Andre Cisco, also sidelined by a hamstring injury. He had some strong open-field tackles, two pass breakups and the interception that sent the defense into towel-waving mode.
“It’s a big, big shoutout to our defensive staff,” said Wingard. “They’ve really done an unbelievable job. Coach Caldwell in his second year, you can see how smart he’s become, and how really Xs and Os, with a mix of what-the-players-want-to-play type calls. It’s just awesome. It’s fun being out there.”
Between the team’s eight pass breakups, and Josh Allen collecting two more sacks to reach 9.0 total — one behind NFL leader Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings — the bond being built by the Jaguars’ defense continues to show up on the field every week.
“We’re a gritty group,” said Allen. “We got our identity and we stick to that.”
Wingard believes the player relationships built over the past 18 months under Pederson have been a difference-maker.
“When you feel like you’re truly playing with your brothers, it makes things less scary,” said Wingard. “This is a big stage, this is the NFL, right? When you look at us as NFL players, you think, ‘Oh, those guys don’t get scared, those guys don’t have doubts.’
“No, we’re human, we’re just like everyone else. We have those doubts, we have those fears, we have those insecurities. But when you have all the guys together and you feel like you’re part of something. … it takes a load off and allows you to just go play free.”
That freedom was manifested by Pickens adding a little more fuel to the Jaguars’ motivational fire.
Etienne juices up sputtering offense
When you look at the stellar numbers for quarterback Trevor Lawrence (24 of 32, 292 yards, 100.0 rating), tight end Evan Engram (10 catches, 88 yards), receiver Calvin Ridley (6 catches, 83 yards) and 149 combined rushing/receiving yards for Travis Etienne, you’d think the offense had a lights-out day.
But two turnovers in the red zone, including a terrible interception into traffic that Trevor should have thrown out of the back of the end zone, translated into just one Jaguars touchdown and loads of frustration.
Somehow, thanks to the defense putting the Steelers mostly on lockdown, the offense got away with three total turnovers and wasting a ton of good field position.
“We just got to find ways to finish those drives,” said Lawrence. “I had a bad play down in the red zone. That can’t happen. That took off seven points, but at last three points off the board for us. That shouldn’t happen. I can’t let that happen being the quarterback. I got to be smarter there.”
Fortunately, Lawrence’s brain worked just fine on an exquisite 56-yard touchdown pass to Etienne down the right sideline. Etienne followed with a two-point conversion run for a 17-3 lead.
Going back to their Clemson days, it was the longest connection Lawrence could remember ever making with his college teammate.
“I don’t know if we ever have thrown that ball to the running back out there,” said Lawrence. “Honestly got to give a lot of credit to Travis for staying ready, knowing what the [defensive] look is.”
The best still to come
Here’s the best part: the Jaguars have won five consecutive games and except for the Buffalo Bills’ victory, their offense still hasn’t found much of a groove.
Imagine what the possibilities might be when Trevor’s unit starts playing as well as the defense.
“We’re still not the best team in the league,” said Lawrence. “We still got more out there for us. That’s all we know. … It would be great if this decided playoffs and all that right now, but it doesn’t.
“This honestly means nothing. It means we got a great start to the season. We can’t look too far ahead and think we’ve done everything.”
Christian Kirk says he remembers all too well the Jaguars being 3-7 last year and the Tennessee Titans being 7-3, so the Jaguars’ receiver says they must have that the same mindset about finishing strong. They can’t get caught up in having total command of the AFC South race.
That aside, the truth is the Jaguars are in a different place now. They’re the hot team, holders of the NFL’s longest winning streak and being 12-3 (playoffs included) since getting embarrassed 40-14 by the Detroit Lions last December.
Just think of how dangerous they might be if Trevor’s offense loses the inconsistency and 30-point outputs become a weekly thing.
“We haven’t played our best game yet,” said Allen. “We keep winning these games by not playing our best game. Once we hit that peak, it’s going to be something real pretty to look at.”
Come January and February, maybe even the best team to come out of the AFC.
That’s no joke. The rest of the NFL is now on alert.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Scary part for NFL is Jaguars are 6-2 without putting forth best stuff
