The bright young defender led his team to an unforgettable victory in the flashcard round, but failed to beat the top team on the road.The season ended in failure, but everyone – players, coaches, supporters and national pundits – was on the verge of greatness. These two sentences describe the 2023 Green Bay Packers. This is correct.
We also have an overview of the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2022 Jaguars were ranked 4th through 8th before the fire. Led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jaguars have won five straight games to win the AFC South and move into fourth place. Lawrence had four touchdown passes in the wild card round as the Jaguars overcame a 27-0 deficit to stun the Chargers 31-30.
In the divisional round game against the powerful Chiefs, the Jaguars lost 27-20 after falling behind 20-17 in the fourth quarter. Big things were expected for Jaguar in 2023, so why not? Lawrence finished the season with 4,113 passing yards and 30 total touchdowns. The Jaguars’ offense looked like a masterstroke when they acquired Travis Etienne, wide receivers Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
Additionally, the defense finished outside the top 10 in points allowed. In the first half of the 2023 season, everything seemed to be in place. They have won five straight, including wins at Buffalo, New Orleans and Pittsburgh, to improve to 6-2. The Jaguars were shut out at home in San Francisco after the shutout, but righted the ship in December with back-to-back wins over Tennessee and Houston to post an 8-3 record.
At the time, they had a 98 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to the ESPN Power Football Index. Then everything that was dissolved dissolved. The Jaguars had lost four in a row before an upset win over Carolina. That set up the game for Tennessee to win 5-11.