Commanders' Rapid Rise Should Show Jaguars There Are No More Excuses

After years of building, the Jacksonville Jaguars can't afford to wait any longer -- the Washington Commanders Have proven they don't have to.

Jan 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn walks off the field after the win against Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

There is no better success story in the NFL this season the Washington Commanders.

Led by first-year general manager Adam Peters, new head coach Dan Quinn and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are on the brink of destiny.

Washington was rarely looked upon as a contender entering this season for obvious reasons. They had a rookie quarterback and were fresh out of a bleak era of dispair under previous ownership and football leaders.

Despite that, though, the Commanders are one win away from representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. To get there, they have gone through two different top-5 offenses in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions, the latter of which fell to the Commanders in one of the most shocking playoff results in recent memory.

The question is ... if the Commanders can do it, why can't the other lowly teams in the NFL? More specifically, why can't the Jaguars?

The Jaguars had a similar run of success in 2022 in the first year of Doug Pederson's tenure as head coach, but they never reached the heights the Commanders did this year. The Commanders won more games, did so with a rookie quarterback, and have gone further in the playoffs than the 2022 Jaguars did.

Despite the Jaguars being built by general manager Trent Baalke since 2021, the Jaguars have never won more than nine games in a season. The Jaguars are 25-43 in those four seasons combined; the Commanders won almost half the amount of games in just one season, and this is despite Washington being one of the worst franchises in sports up until this season.

The Commanders have proven that with the right mix and allignment, great things can happen. The Jaguars are entering the fifth year of the Baalke era and are still looking to become great.

The Jaguars have no more excuses moving forward. That was true before Saturday, but Washington's massive success this year only hammers that point home. If Washington could go from losers to winners in the matter of one offseason, then what exactly is taking the Jaguars so long to do the same? That is the question they must ask themselves.

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