Monday 25 December 2017 07:18, UK
How 'bout those Jags?
It's a rarity to be 15 weeks into an NFL season and for the Jacksonville Jaguars still to be relevant. The team last made the playoffs in 2007 and have the third-worst record in the NFL ever since - their 63-111 mark only 'bettered' by the St Louis/Los Angeles Rams (56-117-1) and those ever-reliable Cleveland Browns (48-127).
At 10-4, Jacksonville are currently atop the AFC South, clinching a first playoff appearance in 10 years. They next face the San Francisco 49ers, live on Sky Sports Action from 9.05pm on Sunday, before a key divisional clash with fellow playoff hopefuls, the Tennessee Titans, in the final week.
We take a closer look at the secrets behind their success…
#Sacksonville by name….
Sacksonville by nature. There's a reason why the catchy moniker has stuck, why the team now proudly displays it for the watching world as their Twitter handle. The Jags lead the league in sacks with 51, with devastating defensive end Calais Campbell - a free agent acquisition during the offseason - accounting for 14.5 of those.
"They've done a great job of putting together one of the great defences in the NFL right now," says Sky Sports' Jeff Reinebold. "The addition of Malik Jackson, from the Denver Broncos, and Campbell from the Arizona Cardinals has been huge.
"Two veteran defensive linemen, who can control the inside, demand double teams, and both outstanding, disruptive pass rushers. They also bring that intangible, veteran presence - they've been there, done that, been to Super Bowls. It benefits the younger guys on that team hugely, all the speed they have at linebacker."
The stats would seem to back that up. The Jaguars aren't just wreaking havoc on the defensive line. It's their whole defense. They have the league's best scoring unit, they're No 1 in total defense, and passing defense. If defense truly does win championships, then Jacksonville can start sorting their travel arrangements for a February trip to Minnesota and the Super Bowl.
Lift from London
However, don't be fooled. The Jags defense has flashed before, and was a top 10 outfit in both yards and points allowed in 2016, as well as top five against the pass. That contributed to all of three wins on the season.
There are a number of reasons why things are different this year, including the additions of Jackson and Campbell (as highlighted above) to an already strong defense, but the lift they gained from their annual visit to London, in Week Three, should also not be underestimated.
The Jags earned a third-straight Wembley win, but unlike their previous two tightly-contested triumphs, Jacksonville truly hammered the Baltimore Ravens - who look every inch a playoff team currently in the AFC. The defense picked off Joe Flacco twice, limiting him to all of 28 yards passing! Meanwhile, their own, oft-maligned QB Blake Bortles threw for four TDs. The team haven't looked back since.
Blake Bortles dilemma
Such showings from Bortles had been few and far between for the Jags but, in recent weeks, he has once again reached those lofty heights - Sunday's 45-7 drubbing of the Houston Texans was the third week running where Bortles has thrown multiple touchdown passes in a game, having only done it once (in London) prior. this season. Many still think it's Bortles though that is holding this team back from greatness.
However, history suggests that the Jaguars could still be set for Super Bowl success even if somewhat handicapped at QB. Since 2000, numerous quarterbacks have led their team to the Vince Lombardi trophy with a passer rating lower than Bortles' 89.7 mark this season - Trent Dilfer 76.7 (2000), Eli Manning 73.9 (2007), Ben Roethlisberger 80.1 (2008) and Peyton Manning 67.9 (2015).
Leonard Fournette firing
"If they have to rely on Bortles, I can't see them having much success and a run in the playoffs," adds Reinebold. "Jacksonville have to establish Fournette - get his shoulders vertical into that line of scrimmage, and being that big thumper that he is. Then they have a chance."
That shows the high esteem in which the No 4 overall pick from the draft Fournette is held, though the powerful runner, hailed as the "next Adrian Peterson" during the offseason, has had somewhat of a mixed rookie season, with some off-field distractions overshadowing success on it.
Fournette registered touchdowns in every game through the first six weeks of the season, though that impressive streak was cut short first by an ankle injury that kept him from playing the Colts, a bye week, and then a benching for the game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to an 'infraction of a team rule'. When he did get back into the team, three more scoreless weeks followed.
"This guy has all the tools to be a great NFL back," says Reinebold. "He showed it early, then went knucklehead for a little bit, got suspended. The Jags need him back to his best down the stretch."
Coughlin making his mark
The Fournette situation points towards decisive and disciplined coaching, which seems to have greatly benefitted this team in 2017.
Gus Bradley was fired in the offseason after four fruitless years in charge, in which the team never managed more than five wins. In fact, Bradley's win-loss percentage of .226 is the worst by any coach of the Super Bowl era.
In his stead arrived Doug Marrone, not exactly the sexiest of hires after two mediocre years in charge of the Buffalo Bills in 2013 and 2014, followed by a spell as Bradley's assistant. And, while Marrone has certainly done a stellar job with this exciting young team, there are also Tom Coughlin's fingerprints all over their success.
The former Jaguars and New York Giants coach rejoined his old team as executive vice president of football operations ahead of the 2017 season, and while 'Big Blue' flounder in New York minus Coughlin - Ben McAdoo's mishandling of Eli Manning, and subsequent firing - the Jaguars are seemingly reaping the rewards of his structured, disciplined approach.
Playoff return
A start-up franchise in only 1995, the Jaguars were a real success story early on, reaching the playoffs four times in their first five seasons and even getting as far as the AFC Championship game in 1996 and 1999.
However, since then the team have suffered from a real barren run, with only two further trips to the postseason, in 2005 and most recently way back in 2007.
Those two playoff trips since the turn of the century were ended at the hands of the New England Patriots, in the Wild Card weekend and then the Divisional Round. Should the Jaguars have their sights set on the Super Bowl, the road will likely once again run through New England.
Watch the Jacksonville Jaguars' game against the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday, live on Sky Sports Action from 9.05pm.
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