The stakes can't get any higher for Jaguars' Mac Jones

The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled this season for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is injuries. USA TODAY’s Christian D’Andrea believes Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was starting to play the best football he had all season before getting injured.

“Trevor Lawrence was warming up before Week 9,” D’Andrea said. “The once and future quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars was starting to bounce back after a poor start to the 2024 season.

“He was responsible for adding nearly 21 expected points (EPA) between the blowout win over the New England Patriots and the narrow loss to the Green Bay Packers and was a top-five passer in that span.

“Then the wheels came off in Philadelphia. Lawrence completed more than half of his passes in a 28-23 loss to the Eagles. He made two interceptions. “Not only did his left shoulder injury keep him out of the Week 10 game against the Minnesota Vikings, it also cost Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson his job.”

D’Andrea noted that the Jaguars have the worst record in the league this season and that head coach Doug Pederson has had an abysmal record over the last 15 games.

“The Jaguars are 2-7 this season and have the worst record in the NFL. Pederson is 3-12 in his last 15 games,” D’Andrea said. “He needs to seriously step up this winter to keep his job in Jacksonville. And that’s the quarterback he’s going to trust.”

“Mac Jones will step into the breach for a Jags team that has spent the last 12 months unraveling. The same Mac Jones who has gotten progressively worse over three increasingly frustrating seasons for the New England Patriots after becoming a 2021 first-round draft pick.

“The same Mac Jones who took 35 deep balls in 11 games last season and completed four of them.”

D’Andrea noted that while the Jaguars will provide Jones with more talent at the skill positions than at his previous stop, the young quarterback still has plenty of room to grow.

“Jones will get more support on paper than he did to end his tenure with the Patriots,” D’Andrea said. “Brian Thomas Jr. He’s only a rookie, but he’s already a more dynamic wide receiver than anyone New England has offered the young QB in his three years there.

“Evan Engram is the true version of the tight end the Patriots want Mike Gesicki to be in 2023. Tank Bigsby and Trevor Etienne have not been consistent by any means, but they have created a top-10 game despite Jacksonville’s glaring issues elsewhere.

Jones’ development gradually regressed during his time in New England. Now he has a chance to show that he’s matured and improved in Jacksonville.

“As a Patriot, his average passing yardage and throw time decreased each season, partly because he had little room to move behind a bad offensive line and partly because he wasn’t very good at those throws.” said D’Andrea.

“His average throwing distance of 6.9 yards in 2023 was the fifth-lowest among all starting quarterbacks. However, the rate of shots hitting the target, which should apparently be easier, ranks 20th; He’s way behind the other four QBs who throw similarly short passes.”

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