JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Boxcutter Bill from Mass
One game behind in the division. It's the NFL. "Good" teams and "bad" teams are not as far off as it seems to casual fans. The Jags seem to have a more winnable schedule down the stretch than the first-place Colts, and we play them twice, and I personally believe the play of quarterback Daniel Jones has been a product of a soft schedule to begin the season. Doesn't it seem like we actually have a chance to win this division? And we all have to do is Just win baby!
The Jaguars following a 30-29 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas Sunday are 5-3, a game and a half behind the Indianapolis Colts (7-2) in the AFC South. The Jaguars on paper indeed have a more manageable schedule than the Colts, but games are played on the field – and the guess here is both the Colts and Jaguars down the stretch will lose a few games their fans expect them to win and win a few games their fans expect them to lose. The NFL has a way of making what's expected seem outdated when viewed in retrospect. And you're correct when saying that the difference between "good" and "bad" NFL teams often is minimal at best. In many cases, the definition changes week to week – and sometimes more quickly than that. It remains to be seen whether the Jaguars will be considered "good" or "bad" this season. What they are through eight games is a resilient , tough team. They have lost to two very good teams – the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams – in the last month and they're playing their way through a serious stretch of injuries. Each week seems like it will be a fight at this point. Welcome to professional football.
Chad from Fernandina Beach, FL
I still can't decide if the team is a trainwreck or not, but either way, the Jaguars are entertaining. It seems like we had all the same problems we have had all season, but keep managing to win. Don't understand it, but I will take it.
The Jaguars are far, far, far from a trainwreck. They are 5-3 and very much in the race for the AFC South title and an AFC playoff spot. They are also an injured team that's not going to be perfect this season. Are they consistent enough? No. Did they win pretty Sunday? Not at all. But they won and they're competing in almost every game. This is what contending often looks like in the NFL. Nine games remain. Buckle up.
JK from NY & Fernandina Beach, FL
John. The Jags found a way to win despite a huge amount of the dreaded adversity. That is a testament to the coaching and the player's will to win. Is "next man up" the identity of this year's team?
It was against the Raiders on Sunday and it better be moving forward. As Head Coach Liam Coen said Monday, the injury report is a "laundry list" right now.
Mark from Richmond, VA
Fine, I'll be the only one to give Trevor his well-earned respect. Scoring drive after scoring drive, he got it done. He really did look sick in postgame and I'd like to thank him for going out there and getting us a win. Where 99.9% of these readers would be curled up in bed calling out of work! DUUUVAL.
This is a storyline that seemingly has been somewhat oddly overlooked from Sunday's victory. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence not only played through significant sickness in Las Vegas, he played very well in the second half and overtime – and did so with injuries crippling his receiving corps. He didn't just "look" sick following the game. He was sick – sick enough that the Jaguars had to announce it before the game. It's fair to criticize how Lawrence has played at times this season. It's also fair to acknowledge that the Jaguars are 5-3 and that Lawrence was a big reason they won Sunday.
Kevin from Jacksonville
For his career including preseason, Jaguars kicker Cam Little is two for two on field goals 68 yards and longer.
Remarkable.
Mark from Green Bay, WI
Oh, wow, we won. Barely, against a bad team. We only looked good in overtime. What gives? I do not think Trevor is going to take us to the Super Bowl ... ever. Need to start looking for a newer quarterback. Do you think we can win against the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, even the Greeb Bay Packers? I know a win is a win, but make it look like a win.
No one who matters around the Jaguars believes the Jaguars right now are "good enough." Everyone who matters around the Jaguars is committed to improving to the point where they can consistently beat the best teams in the NFL. But the Jaguars are 5-3 in the first season in a new regime, and teams typically have highs and lows as regimes build their way toward elite status. Remember: The three franchises you mention have had their head coach – and in sense, their regimes – in place for multiple seasons. You don't usually snap your fingers and find yourself among the top teams in the NFL. You have to climb to get there. This is the climb.
Jeremy from Riverview, FL
A win is a win. I'll take it: 5-3 after so many years of just hoping we'd be in the playoff conversation after Halloween. I'm officially in "stay tuned" mode.
Jeremy is ready for the climb.
Stephen from Belfast, United Kingdom
John, no matter how this season ends up we have the new NFL record for longest field goal, and most illegal motion penalties in a season. History!
Belfast's got jokes.
Don from Marshall, NC
For someone who watch Tom Dempsey kick a 63-yard field goal on TV as it happened so many years ago in Tulane Stadium, I am in complete awe of Cam Little. To me it's Babe Ruth kind of stuff! Holy Smokes, it's so hard to kick a football. For someone to be able to kick a football 70 yards just seems so impossible. It might be the hardest thing to do on a football field. For Jaguar fans, it's a timestamp in their lives they will never forget. That young man's name is destined to be a permanent feature of the stadium. Big stuff man! Special! Let's Go Jaguars!
When it comes to being enthusiastic about Jaguars kicker Cam Little's remarkable accomplishment – albeit one that seems likely to be surpassed in the coming weeks or months – Don remains preciously "all in."
Chris from Mandarin, FL
For all the faults the Jaguars have right now, and they are plenty, the fact that they were able to run the ball late in the game when the opponent knew that was what they were going to do is a good sign.
Yep.
Al from Orange Park
I've always heard that even if your run game only picking up 2 or 3 yards per play in the first quarter, stick with it and those runs will be 8 and 9 yards in the fourth quarter against a tired defense. Sunday was a good example of that, wouldn't you say?
Yep.
Cliff from Everywhere with helicopter
Gotta admit, I thought Cam Little was going to be gonzo after Wembley. Of course it would be the most "Jaguars" thing ever for him to have caught on with another team and proceeded to break the record for longest field goal in league history in some other team's jersey. Maybe it's time for me to accept that experienced and highly-paid coaches and GMs know more about the game than I. Nah.
Little struggled in recent weeks. The Jaguars' confidence in him did not waver. Regret not. Fans fan. It's what they do.
Bradley from Death Valley, California
I'm guessing when Lawrence, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., wide receiver Travis Hunter, and Little went to Jamaica or wherever it was in the Caribbean, they just worked on field-goal drills?
Likely not.
Tucker from Nashville, TN
Hey John, I don't understand why in the history of the Jags we can't cover a tight end. We know the Raiders offense runs through tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty. That's it. Why not double-team Bowers all game? Yes, I know we run a lot of zone, but Bowers was killing us. Not to mention Jeanty was wide open on the flats. I know the NFL schemes are complicated, but some of this seems like common sense.
Bowers is really good. The NFL is about generational players doing generational things, and we may have seen an example of that Sunday.
JK from NY & Fernandina Beach, FL
John. I watched a replay of the fourth quarter and overtime. It was even better. What a great victory for the Jags. Was the win in Vegas the best of the year so far?
It was up there.
