Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the better, but also more disappointing, non-playoff teams in the eyes of national media. For the final time this season, to get a feel for how the Jacksonville Jaguars are viewed around the league, here’s a look at 8 different national media power rankings. The Ringer: 15 (last week: 11) CBS Sports: 15 (last week: 11) From Pete Prisco: They flopped in a big way down the stretch to blow their playoff chances. Changes have to be coming. NFL.com: 16 (last week: 12) From Eric Edholm: At some point, some real heat has to come down on Trevor Lawrence. He built up quite a bit of goodwill in Year 2 and during parts of his third season, but Jacksonville’s 0-5 record in his final five starts was alarming. Lawrence’s mistakes in Sunday’s loss — including a failed sneak and a late overthrow of Calvin Ridley — cut deeper with the Jaguars knowing exactly what they needed to do to get into the postseason. Credit Lawrence for his toughness; his consecutive-starts streak is over, but he played a few games this season that other quarterbacks might have sat out. Still, Lawrence had a chance to stamp a big fat “no doubt” on his upcoming offseason, which could have led to a contract extension, but that all feels a bit murky now. Lawrence’s standing with the team appears to remain firm, but we were left with more questions about him than I anticipated entering 2023 — or even in late November, when the team was sitting pretty at 8-3. Pro Football Talk: 17 (last week: 12) From Mike Florio: Doug Pederson will be on the hot seat next year. Yahoo Sports: 17 (last week: 11) From Frank Schwab: Let’s be real: If the Jaguars played in a bigger market, their collapse to miss the playoffs would be perhaps the talking point of the entire NFL for a few days. Trevor Lawrence had injuries but still wasn’t good enough. Doug Pederson should get plenty of heat for what happened. Missing the playoffs was inexcusable. Bleacher Report: 18 (last week: 14) Fox Sports: 18 (last week: 14) From David Helman: I’m well aware of how dinged up Trevor Lawrence was by the end of the season. I sympathize. But it doesn’t change the fact that the Jaguars are the biggest disappointment of 2023. From 8-3 and chasing the No. 1 seed to 9-8 and out of the playoffs is an objective failure, no matter what contributed to the decline. There’s plenty of soul-searching to do in Jacksonville this offseason. The Athletic: 22 (last week: 17) From Josh Kendall: In a win-and-you’re-in game, the Jaguars fell behind 21-10 and failed to score on their final four possessions. They finished the season losing five of six and will miss the playoffs for the 14th time in the last 16 seasons. Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, finished the season 25th in EPA per attempt (minus-.03) and 24th in passer rating (88.5). He also threw more interceptions (14) than all but three quarterbacks in the NFL. Gus’ power rankings: 1. Ravens (last week: 1) -- This is the order of the teams I have the most faith in to win the Super Bowl, starting with Baltimore. This is also likely the final Power Rankings column until August, so if you’ve been following along with my list all season -- thank you for reading. 2. 49ers (2) 3. Bills (3) 4. Cowboys (4) 5. Dolphins (5) 6. Rams (8) 7. Browns (7) 8. Chiefs (6) 9. Packers (not ranked) 10. Lions (9) 11. Eagles (not ranked) 12. Texans (not ranked) 13. Buccaneers (not ranked) 14. Steelers (not ranked) Where would you rank the team, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments! Source: https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2024/1/11 ... g-playoffs
