3 important takeaways for the Jaguars from wild divisional round of the NFL playoffs
On Monday morning, football fans finally had the chance to catch their collective breaths. What preceded was perhaps the wildest two days in the entire history of the league. All four games featured field goal kicks as time expired, with the first three being walk-offs.
The Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams all won on the road as both No. 1 seeds in the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers, as well as the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have been eliminated.
But the best was saved for last.
In what some are dubbing the greatest game in NFL history, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills combined for 25 points in regulation after the two-minute warning. The Chiefs orchestrated a two-play game-tying drive with 13 seconds left in the game before winning in overtime 42-36.
It was a roller-coaster weekend of football, but when the dust finally settled, there was a lot to be learned — even for the Jaguars, who sit further from this spectacle than anyone else in the league after an NFL-worst 3-14 finish. Here are three big takeaways from the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The Jags can be here if Trevor Lawrence is the right guy
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday night’s thriller was essentially a piece of propaganda on behalf of the quarterback position. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen proved why they are poised to be the faces of the game in its next era. The pair combined for 707 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions in a masterclass of an offensive game.
It demonstrated just what a quarterback can do for a team, and that should give the Jaguars hope if they believe that Trevor Lawrence is the right guy. Allen’s arc is especially poignant because he could be seen as a case study in patience. He was bad his first season and not much better his second, but there’s now a strong argument that he’s the best quarterback in football. Given Lawrence’s struggles as a rookie, Allen’s story goes to show that giving a quarterback time to develop without abandoning ship while building around him can yield positive results.
But both the Chiefs and Bills are very talented teams in much better spots than the Jaguars. So perhaps a better case study is the run the Cincinnati Bengals are on. Whereas Buffalo and Kansas City were playoff teams last year, the Bengals were 4-11-1. The franchise hadn’t won a playoff game in 30 years, but it’s now won two this postseason and will play for the chance to go to the Super Bowl on Sunday, and there’s one reason why: Joe Burrow.
The Bengals still have noticeable roster deficiencies, and Burrow was sacked a playoff-record nine times in the win over Tennessee. But Cincinnati is still in this position just two years removed from picking first overall, and it’s because it has the right guy in Burrow. If Lawrence is a similar talent, the Jags could be competitive sooner than many realize.
The Titans' window may be closing
Syndication: The Tennessean
It’s hard not to be impressed with the Titans’ run this season. For a team that many consider a one-man show, Tennessee didn’t seem to miss Derrick Henry much during the back half of the season as it earned the AFC’s top seed. With Henry back for the playoff opener, many expected big things for the Titans.
While their defense played well against Burrow as mentioned above, the offense was abysmal. Henry, who was not quite 100%, was held to 62 yards on 20 carries, though he did find the end zone once. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who receives praise as a game-manager, tossed three interceptions.
With Tannehill under a relatively large contract for the next two seasons and a roster that isn’t quite up to par with the other top teams in the AFC, it’s fair to question whether the Super Bowl window might be closing in Nashville. Coach Mike Vrabel has found a lot of success since taking the helm, but the Titans may be reevaluating their future. Though they’ve won the division the last two seasons, there may be an opportunity for the Jaguars to seize at some point in the relatively near future.
Don't be afraid of big contracts
Syndication: Florida Times-Union
For Jacksonville’s sake, I hope general manager Trent Baalke was watching as Los Angeles upset the defending champions on the road. Because the Rams entered this season in win-now mode, unafraid to take on hefty contracts if it meant contention for a title. Considering the “scared money” approach the Jaguars took to last year’s offseason when they led the NFL in available cap space, there’s certainly a lesson to be learned here.
To be clear, Baalke isn’t alone in this train of thought. There seems to be conventional wisdom around the league that building through the draft is better than building through free agency or trades. This is true in some respects, and having major contributors on rookie deals gives teams more leeway to spend. But they certainly aren’t mutually exclusive, and the Rams proved that this season.
They’ve been incredibly aggressive in building this team, trading multiple first-round picks for an elite quarterback in Matthew Stafford last offseason. They acquired Von Miller in a trade from Denver and signed receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after he was waived by Cleveland. Even before this season, they traded two first-round picks for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, as well.
I’m not naive. I know Jacksonville and Los Angeles aren’t comparable free-agent destinations. But the fact remains that the Jaguars were afraid to take on big contracts last offseason, and it kept the team’s ceiling low and essentially wasted a crucial year of development for Lawrence. They have a lot of cap space again this season, and they have the chance to rectify the mistakes from a year ago, if they’re willing to be aggressive enough.
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