Where Do the Experts See the Jaguars Finishing in 2022?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are almost exactly a week away from starting a new season and a new era.

In nine short days, the Jaguars will travel to Washington to take on Ron Rivera and the Commanders in the first truly significant test of the Doug Pederson regime.

No more projections. No more guesses on player usage or depth charts. Just football, win or lose.

"This week is unique because we can look ahead to the Commanders, but at the same time, we’re focused on our roster, too, so there’s a lot of moving pieces and moving parts, it’s kind of two-fold that way," Pederson said on Thursday.

"We’re putting some ideas and some things in front of our players this week that could be in the game plan, may not be in the game plan, things we want to try, pass concepts, possibly a new defense, whatever it might be, just to see if this is the time to kind of experiment with that this week, but at the same time, but again, be looking at Washington and getting to know the personnel a little bit and familiarize with them and get ready for next week.”

With the Jaguars finally hitting the field in a meaningful and significant game next Sunday, it is a better time now than ever to take a look at exactly how the experts think the Jaguars will fare in 2022.

First is Sports Illustrated's own Conor Orr, who predicted every single game for the 2022 season. The Jaguars' opener and the 270+ other regular-season games set to unfold over the next several months were opined upon by Orr, and it was mostly good news for the Jaguars.

Orr had the Jaguars finishing third in the AFC South but with a respectable 8-9 record. Considering the Jaguars have won just 10 games in the last three seasons -- and four in the last two -- an eight-win season would be reason for celebration in Jacksonville. This would especially be the case if the Jaguars defeat the Titans in Week 18 at home to cap off a strong first year under Pederson.

"The game everyone is probably curious about is a season-ending loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville," Orr wrote.

"This is not a Mike Vrabel game to lose and we already have Jacksonville playing an uncharacteristic, spoiler-type role this season. But … Trevor Lawrence will have had a full season in Doug Pederson’s system by then. In this scenario, he has a glimpse-of-the-future type of game against an elite defense and coordinator."

Lawrence had that kind of game in Week 18 last year, and the hope is now he will help the Jaguars take a leap forward as he improves as his own rate. Lawrence had the kind of preseason and training camp that has not just the Jaguars optimistic, but also those on the outside who have been waiting to see Lawrence ascend to his status as a top young quarterback prospect.

And the Jaguars will go as far as Lawrence goes. This is true for any NFL team, but especially a rebuilding Jaguars team that struggled in all phases on offense last season.

"There are some, but there’s still some growth to be had and to be done. I do like where he’s at going into the season this year," Pederson said this week about Lawrence.

"Got a good handle on the offense and the personnel around him. Smart guy. He’s picked up a lot of the protections and different things that we’re doing. I’ll tell you this, playing last year, playing every game last year really has helped him get to this point and you see the veteran in him and the leadership in him in that way and continuing to work and I’d say a work in progress each week to get better, and that’s what you want. You want to keep improving now. Again, you don’t want to be a finished product in September, you want to be a finished product in January, February.”

In Orr's projections, the Jaguars lose each of their first three games to Washington, the Colts and the Chargers, before picking up a win against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 4. Orr also has the Jaguars beating the Texans in Week 5, Giants in Week 7, Raiders in Week 9, Lions in Week 13, Cowboys in Week 15, Texans in Week 17, and the Titans in Week 18.

As for losses, Orr has the Jaguars dropping their first three games and then also losing to the Colts in Week 6, the Broncos in Week 8, Chiefs in Week 10, Ravens in Week 12, Titans in Week 14, and Jets in Week 16.

"Speaking of the Jaguars, I think this is an overly fair breakdown. Because Indianapolis and Tennessee are so good, it was hard to try to play them into fringe wild-card contention, but 8–9 would represent a resounding success for Pederson in Year 1," Orr wrote.

We get a little cheeky here, with the Jaguars starting the season on a skid before, in a very poetic way, getting their first win in the Pederson Bowl against the Eagles in Philadelphia.