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At this point, is there any team in the NFL in more dire straights than the Jacksonville Jaguars?
Through three games, which admittedly isn't a massive sample size but is decent enough, they have a point differential of -45, have scored progressively fewer points with each passing game, and simply look lost every time they take the field. Factor in calls for a change at offensive coordinator, head coach, and even quarterback, and it's hard to really find a situation across the league that feels quite as hopeless, as even New York Giants fans have Malik Neighbors to root for.
But hey, just because the Jaguars started the season out 0-3 doesn't mean they can't rally, right? Every team is 0-0 every week, and even the worst team in the NFL will steal a win every now and then, even if they can't manage the feat consistently. Do the Jaguars have a chance to get that win in Week 4 against a Houston Texans team that only scored seven points in Week 3? Maybe so, but considering the numbers, it feels more likely that the Jaguars will instead suffer a new but uniquely disappointing loss to the Texans in Houston, leading to even more questions than answers about the youngest franchise in Florida.
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1. Trevor Lawrence gets benched for Mac Jones, again
In Week 3, the Jaguars looked absolutely lost on offense.
Sure, Lawrence threw the ball 38 times for 178 yards and a touchdown, which isn't a horrible line of stats, but he was sacked four times, threw a pick, and just generally looked indecisive in the pocket, which, when you consider he's not a particularly mobile quarterback and the Jags have built their entire offense around deep vertical passes, finishing the game with a long of 36 is not a formula for success.
Things got so bad that, after watching the Carolina Panthers turn in a stunner against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, fans began to petition on social media to see the Jaguars make a change under center, too, demanding they see former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones take over under center as the Bills ran up the score.
Technically, those fans got their wish, as Jones got a few snaps on offense in garbage time, but if the Jaguars continue to skid against a Texans team hungry for a bounce-back win after turning in an ugly effort in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, how long will Lawrence's leash be? Will the Jaguars keep him in the game in order to work things out and play like the almost $200 million QB they extended him up to be? Or would Pederson and company, knowing their jobs could be on the line, make a change, hoping that a game manager like Jones could at least run the offensive effectively, even if he's incapable of performing the type of backup magic that got Nick Foles a statue in front of Lincoln Financial Field?
If the Jaguars' coaching staff believe their problem simply comes down to executing Press Taylor's offense, as opposed to deeper issues across the board, then who knows, maybe Jones will get the Andy Dalton treatment in Week 4, even if he's had far less success than the TCU product as a pro.
![Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks on during a rookie minicamp at Miller Electric Center Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Liam-Coen-at-Jaguars-OTAs.jpg)
2. CJ Stroud makes the Jaguars' defense look silly
After setting the NFL by storm in 2023, CJ Stroud has watched his production dip ever so slightly in 2024, going from 273.9 yards per game as a rookie to just 236.3 through the first three games of the 2024 season.
Now granted, Stroud's numbers are still pretty good, he's completing 67.7 percent of his passes, has 709 yards, and has a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but he's already been sacked 11 times through only three games and had his lead effective game of the season against Brian Flores' defense in Week 3, managing to score just seven points while throwing for a season-low 215 and getting picked off twice, to go with four sacks.
Could the Jaguars capitalize on the Texans' woes on the offensive line? Potentially so. They have five sacks on the season to go with 13 QB hits, and while they've already allowed 12 sacks, that doesn't mean players like Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen couldn't make Stroud's life a whole lot harder in Week 4. Still, the far more likely outcome appears to be the Jaguars' 30th-ranked passing offense giving up 250, maybe even 300 passing yards like they did to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 while fans openly wonder how things spiraled out of control so severely.
3. The Jaguars drop to 0-4 as calls for Doug Pederson's job mount
So, if the Jaguars have the potential to play so poorly offensively that they have to make a change at QB just to survive, and Stroud looks primed for a 300-yard passing game against a defensive secondary without any real star power, it's pretty safe to assume Jacksonville could be heading for an 0-4 start to the 2024 NFL season, right?
Yes, yes it does, but what does that mean? Will Shad Khan, who was reportedly irate with how his team is playing, opt to pull the trigger and fire Pederson? While this year hasn't gone well, Pederson still has a Super Bowl win and has been the Jaguars' most effective head coach in years; would they really let him go over a month-long asmple size? Or maybe the team would instead opt to simply fire Press Taylor, a coaching favorite dating back to Philadelphia, in order to inject a different voice into Lawrence's ear and hopefully get things back on track? Frank Reich is currently available, and he and Pederson did wonders back in Philadelphia during their Super Bowl run.
Either way, while the future is very much up in the air, the actual outcome of the game feels far more likely, as the Jaguars simply don't have the same drive in them to push for a win in Week 4 as the Texans, who aren't just looking to make the playoffs in 2024, but do some damage once they've arrived.
