Jaguars’ Josh Allen: ‘This Year, We Were Looking for That Spark’
The 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars ended the regular season on an electric note.
The 2023 Jaguars ended the regular season with a whimper.
After starting the season 8-3 and having a two-game lead in the AFC South entering Week 13, the Jaguars lost five of their final six games, including a 28-20 nightmare vs. the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The magic that helped the 2022 team pull out close win after close win in big games was gone all season. Sunday proved that emphatically.
"To be honest, speaking on last year, it was like we had a spark. We had a fire. We had a determination. We had a want. This year, we were looking for that spark," Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen said after the game.
"And we never got that lit. We have to figure out if we do have one, and if we don't one, we need to find a way to win games."
The Jaguars were a near lock to make the playoffs after a statement win against the Houston Texans in Houston in Week 12, but the team unraveled at the seams over the final month and a half. This included two primetime losses, a number of injuries, and several mistake-filled games where the Jaguars beat themselves.
The only win the Jaguars picked up during the stretch was against the Carolina Panthers, who ended the season with the NFL's worst record and scored zero poitns over the final two weeks.
"These last stretch of six games were disappointing. Even last week, obviously we got the win. We have to figure out what it was and how to kind of maximize everybody's play," Allen said.
"If we can do that, we’ll be where we need to be. We got the guys, we got the talent, we got the trust, we got the locker room. We got the type of guys that can go out there and put the bodies on the line for each other. But when it's time to play with that fire, we gotta turn it on."
When Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was asked for his thoughts on Allen's point of reflection, he didn't shy away from agreeing.
"I think that's accurate. But the thing is, you can't sit around and wait for a spark. You got to be the spark, right? That’s either me being it, or Josh (Allen) being it, or Trevor (Lawrence) being it or something when that other team catches fire," Pederson said.
"That’s all part of learning how to win, learning how to do things right repeatedly week in and week out. And it's a long season. And I know there's going to be losses during the year, you’re going to lose a game, you’re going to lose a player to injury and things like that. But it doesn’t change your attitude, your mentality towards trying to win the games."
The Jaguars never figured that out in 2023, though. Everything that worked in 2022, regressed this season. As a result, the Jaguars are a team of unfulfilled potential.
"Every year is different. We talked about it even after the game, what it took last year, wasn’t what it took this year, it took more. We finished 9-8 both years and it took more this year. We didn't do enough," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said.
"This league, it’s a crazy league and every week you have to do everything you can to bring your best and we didn't do that today. You look back at the last six weeks or five weeks or whatever. It felt like we didn't do that in a lot of those weeks. It's going to sting and we're all going to have to take accountability and live and sit with that for the whole offseason. I know it's disappointing for me. I feel like I didn't do everything that I could have done today to help us win. I didn’t feel like I even played my best. It hurts, but at the end of the day, if that’s what you put on the field, that’s what you did and you’ve got to live with the result. We’ve got to use it to make us better."
