The Best and Worst of the Jaguars' 2023 Season
The depression for the Duval Devout has set in after the gut-wrenching road loss to the Tennessee Titans left the Jacksonville Jaguars just one win short of repeating as the AFC South Champions. That being said, there were plenty of significant bright spots that members of the fanbase will remember fondly despite the disappointment of missing the postseason.
Week 1 win vs. the Colts
The Jaguars have notoriously had a rough time within the confines of Lucas Oil Stadium. Dating back to 2017, they’ve lost in every game in the Indianapolis Colts’ house. Then the 2023 Jacksonville squad came into town fresh with hope and expectations they haven’t seen since the Blake Bortles era.
Calvin Ridley in his first game as a Jaguar when it counted broke 100 yards receiving with a touchdown while Zay Jones had what was among the best catches of the year for a score. Meanwhile, Josh Allen and Travon Walker set the bar to each have the best sack numbers of their career. Allen got to rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson three times with Walker tacking on one more.
While they are still two of the past 11 efforts in the state of Indiana, this made to opening to the 2023 season special.
Losing to the Bengals on Monday Night
This game should have been a spectacle for the Duval Devout. The Jags hadn’t seen the bright lights of ESPN’s Monday Night football in nearly 12 years. The other 31 teams in the NFL had been on the marque as participants at least eight times. And now, this was the first of three AFC North matchups to start that night at Everbank, two of which would garner national attention in primetime (the other was two weeks later on Sunday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens).
Unfortunately, this game became the worst-case scenario for Jacksonville. Maybe the 34-31 overtime loss would be excusable to fans as a hard-fought shootout between Lawrence and Cincinnati’s quarterback Joe Burrow. However, they were facing their backup Jake Browning who passed for 354 yards.
However, getting handed the “L” was only where the troubles began for the Jags. Wide receiver Christian Kirk was knocked out early, two starting offensive linemen went down, and the Jags would head into the road defeat in Cleveland with Lawrence suffering through a high ankle sprain and two starting cornerbacks, Tyson Campbell and Tre’ Herndon missing action against the Browns.
It was after this loss that the Jacksonville Jaguars were never the same again in 2023.
The Bills Win in London
It would be hard to argue the match at Tottenham Hotspur Spur Stadium in London, England was the best win of the season for the Jags. This game had a little bit of everything for the Duval Devout.
A 300-yard game passing by Lawrence, 136 yards and two touchdowns by Etienne, a 100+ yard performance including a clutch catch to set up the second of two 4th quarter touchdowns by Ridley, the Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen getting picked off by Darious Williams -- all took place in these 60 minutes of football.
This marks one of three wins for the Jaguars against playoff participants this season.
The Texans Loss at EverBank
While there may have been outings on the year that were bigger blowout losses in the Jags’ Stadium, the 34-17 loss to the Texans was the first of the big disappointments for the season. While it was unclear at the time how the Texans would end up being, the Jaguars had mistakes all over the field.
Two big bombs were given up with Houston’s rookie quarterback CJ Stroud finding another rookie in Tank Dell that eclipsed 140 receiving yards for 14 points, two turnovers by the Jacksonville offense, and an 85-yard kickoff returned for a touchdown by Texan fullback Andrew Beck were just the highlight among low points. This was the game that fans can point to that had the most to do with missing or making the postseason.
This game was the first domino for disappointing the Duval Devout.
Josh Allen Breaks the Franchise’s Single-Season Sack Record
For all the infamy that will come with missing the playoffs from the Duval Devout, the shining light for the fanbase will be that this is (likely) the season where Josh Allen provided enough evidence to the Jags’ front office that he should get the bag.
While having five games with multiple sacks on the year is plenty of evidence, it was supplanting Calais Campbell’s 2017 mark within 17 games that (should have) tipped the scales. Fans all over Jacksonville shared that moment with him as they watched Allen celebrate making the milestone.
Other bright spots might be worthy of consideration, but these five were what made my list. What plays/moments/games do you think might have been snubbed or are worthy of honorable mention?
