Why the Bye Week Is Crucial for the Jaguars to Reset
The Jaguars entered 2025 with expectations of a bounce back from the disappointing and forgettable 2024 season. A new coaching staff, led by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen and new players such as college phenom Travis Hunter brought anticipation to Duval County. To everyone’s delight, it looked like the Jaguars were living up to that expectation with a hot 4-1 start, with strong offensive performances from veteran Travis Etienne Jr. and one of the best defensive players in the league with linebacker Devin Lloyd. However, after two straight horrendous losses to the NFC West in the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, the Jaguars find themselves at 4-3 at their bye week and a necessary reset is needed.
The Jaguars need to clean up their play before they exit the bye. Penalties have killed this unit, a problem that was concerning all the way back in training camp. The coaching staff needs to take responsibility for failing to instill discipline, as the Jaguars have committed more penalties than most teams in the league. Another issue that is alarming with the Jaguars is that Coen wanted to do run-heavy offense when coming to Jacksonville That worked out well the first few weeks, with Etienne being a top rusher in the league, but that attack has started to slowed in recent weeks, adding to the team’s offensive struggles. It doesn’t help that when Lawrence throws the ball, the receivers drop crucial catches for big yardage that end up being a loss of down and nothing to gain. The whole offensive scheme needs a look over and rethink their methods before they enter Week Nine against the Las Vegas Raiders. A loss would drop the Jaguars to three losses in a row, and would make the season outlook a completely different story than what it was just a few weeks ago.
This rest gives the Jaguars an opportunity to get together and review what has worked and what has not. Whether offensively or defensively, something has to change because their strategy has obviously been figured out. After being 4-1, they’ve been outscored 55-19 in the last two weeks. It’s embarrassing for a team that talked so much after beating an injured San Francisco 49ers team a few weeks ago and upset the struggling Kansas City Chiefs to lose that bad in the weeks following. It’ll be up to the team to take responsibility and fix their problems to improve, or just let the downfall keep slipping in the coming weeks.
