Just one year ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were one win away from reaching the Super Bowl, falling a few plays short in Foxboro against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. With new quarterback Nick Foles under center for the 2019 season, there's optimism that Jacksonville can put 2018 behind them and get back to that stage as soon as this year.
Heading into last season, the Jaguars were dubbed Super Bowl contenders by many NFL pundits and analysts, citing their stout defense and powerful rushing attack that helped them take down the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017-18 playoffs. The one glaring weakness willingly overlooked was Blake Bortles.
During that playoff run, Bortles performed admirably, making enough throws and plays with his legs to help Jacksonville reach the brink of football's biggest stage. The Jaguars rewarded Bortles with a three-year, $54 million contract that still looked horrible at the time, and even worse now given his impending release that will leave a hefty dead cap hit on the franchise.
By the end of last season, Bortles was benched and Jacksonville had nothing to play for except draft positioning and their pride. But, if everything goes right with Foles as their leader, the Jaguars should pose problems for the AFC once again.
Defense, defense, defense
Jacksonville's defense had a number of disappointing efforts and performances in 2018, but over the course of the entire season, they were still one of the better units in the league. The Jags finished fourth in points against and 5th in yards against in 2018, highlighted by a dominant shutout win over the then-surging Indianapolis Colts in Week 13. Their offense only spotted them six points, but Jacksonville's stop unit kept Andrew Luck uncomfortable all day and forced a pair of timely turnovers.
The front office has invested heavily in the defense, and for the most part it has paid off. Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye are one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL, and Calais Campbell, Marcell Darius, and Telvin Smith are all performing admirably while making over $10 million per season.
Stopping the run was a problem for the Jaguars, as they finished 19th in 2018. Still, in a pass-happy league, their second-ranked secondary should be able to lead Jacksonville to another top-10 finish as an overall defense this coming season.
DeFilippo connection
Head coach Doug Marrone claimed that the signing of John DeFilippo as the team's new offensive coordinator back in January had nothing to do with the Jaguars possibly pursuing Foles, but given Monday's agreement with the former Super Bowl MVP, it likely played a factor.
DeFilippo has been heralded for the work he did preparing Foles as the backup quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles before his legendary Super Bowl run. Now, they have a chance to recreate that magic in Florida.
Since coming in for Carson Wentz for the final three weeks of the regular season in 2017, Foles has put together a 10-3 record, including four victories in the postseason. His ability to run the offense originally created for him by Doug Pederson, Frank Reich, and DeFilippo led to some analysts claiming that the Eagles should at least consider keeping Foles over their franchise QB in Wentz.
Philadelphia made the wise choice of sticking with the 2016 second overall pick, but the fact that Foles even created that dialogue says all you need to know about how far he has come as a quarterback.
Balance
In 2017 when all was well in Jacksonville, the team finished with the top-ranked rushing attack in the NFL behind then-rookie back Leonard Fournette as well as contributions from Chris Ivory, T.J. Yeldon, and Corey Grant. Their ability to control tempo and pace with the running game allowed offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to put Bortles in positions to succeed, utilizing boot legs and play-action to create big throwing windows for the not-always-accurate QB.
It was a much different story in 2018. Fournette fought through injuries, disagreements with management, and a late-season suspension. The unit dropped all the way to 19th in rushing yards, no longer pulling the weight for a weak passing game previously in hiding.
With Foles under center, Jacksonville shouldn't have to rely on running the pigskin to put up points. During his tenure in Philadelphia, the Arizona product proved he can make throws at each level, taking what the defense gives him to create favorable down-and-distances for running plays.
Establishing the run once again is still crucial for the Jaguars, but it won't solely determine where this upcoming season goes.
The deep ball
A lot of the big passing plays that came for the Jaguars in 2017 were designed off play-action and route concepts that left receivers open deep down the field. With Foles' ability to throw pin-point passes 30+ yards, Jacksonville won't have to rely on scheme to gain big chunks of yardage through the air.
Most fans think of Foles' MVP performance against the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 in this respect, but no game better demonstrated his proficiency with the deep ball than the NFC Championship matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Foles completed three passes over 40 yards, including a pair of touchdowns in Philadelphia's blowout win. The Vikings' strong secondary looked shell-shocked as they got picked apart to end their season.
A healthy Marqise Lee could become Foles' favorite target, but it's Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole's game-breaking speed that should make for lethal pairings with the team's new quarterback on the long ball. Expect DeFilippo to take his fair share of home-run swings in 2019.
It won't be easy for the Jaguars to take back the AFC South with a very deep Colts team, the Deshaun Watson-led Houston Texans, and a Tennessee Titans squad that nearly reached the playoffs in 2018. But, Foles at least gives Jacksonville a chance to contend again right away.
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