The 2017 NFL season for the Jacksonville Jaguars has officially come to an end following their 24-20 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. While a loss of such magnitude is always disappointing, veteran defensive end Calais Campbell feels there is still a silver lining in these kinds of defeats.
The success of the Jaguars was perhaps the biggest surprise of the year. Which is why Campbell hopes Jacksonville can use this loss as motivation for next season, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk
“I told the guys to keep their head up and use this as fuel,” Campbell said in the locker room. “We are definitely going to have a lot of respect going into next year, and it’s going to be a little harder. We just have to use this as motivation to prepare for it and be prepared for next year.”
As a 10-year NFL veteran, Campbell has suffered his fair share of tough losses. Perhaps nothing has come close to this defeat since he lost the Super Bowl during his rookie year with the Arizona Cardinals.
Regardless, Campbell has managed to produce one solid season after another up until his breakthrough year with the Jaguars. He was one of the most dominant defensive players in the league after recording a career-high 14.5 sacks this season.
This young Jacksonville team has plenty to be proud of after the tremendous strides they have taken since last year. However, they will no longer be taking any teams by surprise moving forward, especially the defense, so they must be prepared to take their game to another level.
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