Jaguars Must Address These Struggles Before the Playoffs

The Jaguars are speeding towards the playoffs this season, but there's one area with plenty of room for improvement they need to address before the postseason.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen hugs New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn after the game of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Jets 48-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are absolutely rolling. In Week 16, they extended their win streak to six games by upending the Denver Broncos to stop theirs at 11 victories in a row. At 11-4, this team is well on its way to a postseason bid and appears to be one of the strongest contenders in the AFC field.

However, like the others in the playoff picture, the Jaguars are far from perfect. They've addressed a lot of their holes during this ongoing stretch, but there's still a lot of work for Head Coach Liam Coen and his staff to tackle before they're ready for the bright lights of the postseason.

Dec 21, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne (1) rushes the ball against the Denver Broncos during the second half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Jaguars have to get their run game going

At the beginning of the 2025 NFL season, the ground game was by far the strength of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Outside of their defensive takeaways, their rushing attack was the main reason they were able to jump out to a 4-1 record to start the campaign. Since then, Trevor Lawrence and the air raid have caught on, but the run game is fading in response.

Travis Etienne Jr. averaged over 98 rushing yards per game in his first four outings this season, on over six yards a carry. In his last four, he's down to 55 yards on 3.7 yards per attempt. He's remained involved in the offense thanks to his pass-catching, but Jacksonville will want to remain balanced on the attack and efficient on the ground to keep opposing defenses honest in the playoffs.

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Against the Denver Broncos, ETN and LeQuint Allen Jr. combined for just 60 yards on 20 carries. Trevor Lawrence was able to carry this offense to a resounding 34-20 upset victory, but the Jaguars won't want him to shoulder such a massive burden in the postseason, especially if their opposition is able to key in on the pass. Head Coach Liam Coen spoke on the struggles of his rushing attack at Mile High Stadium:

"We weren’t popping many of them. The one pitch earlier in the game that got us down inside the five, we executed well, which I think kind of alleviated some of the pressure we were feeling early on. We need to continue to get better in that department, but the quarterback, Trevor, being able to scramble, get us some hard yards, especially down later in the game when you need to get a couple first downs, we were able to do that a little bit."

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