The Jacksonville Jaguars jumped out to a 14-0 lead against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday before everything went south.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence couldn’t hold on to the ball, receivers couldn’t catch passes, Jaguars coaches decided not to run the ball on a rainy day, and the Jacksonville defense couldn’t do anything to stop the Eagles’ run game.
And in spite of it all, the Jaguars still only lost by one score. The team even had a chance to drive the field in the final minutes to tie up the game against an undefeated team.
The Jaguars won’t take any moral victories from that, but some national media members came away a little impressed. Jacksonville may not be in the elite tier of the NFL, but it more than showed it isn’t a bottom 10 team either.
Here’s where the Jaguars landed in power rankings after their 29-21 loss to the Eagles in Week 4:
Touchdown Wire (Mark Lane)
Jaguars ranking: 19 (last week 20)
The Jaguars are playing with some of the tougher teams in the NFL and either hanging around or finding ways to win games. Doug Pederson may have turned around the Jaguars in a hurry. Week 5’s tilt with the Texans will be an interesting test as Jacksonville hasn’t beaten Houston since 2017.
USA Today (Nate Davis)
Jaguars ranking: 13 (last week 11)
Road warriors three of the first four weeks, they’ll be the home team four of the next five – though one of those games will be in London. Worth noting, per DVOA, Jacksonville is the league’s fourth-best team.
NFL.com (Dan Hanzus)
Jaguars ranking: 20 (last week 18)
The learning process for Trevor Lawrence goes on. Playing in sloppy, wet conditions, the Jaguars’ second-year quarterback lacked awareness in the pocket and was too careless with the football in a 29-21 loss to the Eagles. Lawrence fumbled the ball four times (losing all four) and threw a crushing red-zone interception — an avalanche of giveaways that allowed the undefeated Eagles to wipe away an early 14-0 deficit. A tough game for Lawrence, but he gets an ideal bounce-back opponent on Sunday in the Texans.
ESPN (Michael DiRocco)
Jaguars ranking: 15 (last week 13)
The Jaguars had allowed just 55 yards per game on the ground through the first three games, but gave up 210 yards and four touchdowns rushing to the Eagles on Sunday. DT Folorunso Fatukasi had been a key part of the success, but he went down with a quad injury against the Eagles and his status going forward is unclear. The Jaguars have to figure out what went wrong because they face Dameon Pierce, Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley the next three weeks.
Pro Football Talk (Mike Florio)
Jaguars ranking: 10 (last week 11)
It’s rare to lose and climb, but the Jaguars more than held their own in Philly.
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco)
Jaguars ranking: 14 (last week 9)
They showed well early against the Eagles, but then fell apart. Trevor Lawrence has to be better, and really has to do a better job of taking care of the football.
Yahoo Sports (Frank Schwab)
Jaguars ranking: 12 (last week 10)
You’ve have liked to have seen the Jaguars play better after taking a 14-0 lead, but the Eagles are simply better than them. The Eagles are better than most teams. The Jaguars are fine, and I’d pick them to win the AFC South based on what we’ve seen.
