Bolts From The Blue
This week we are joined by Gus Logue of our Jaguars sister site, Big Cat Country, to help us preview this week’s matchup between two AFC teams who are in the thick of contending for a postseason appearance. The Bolts are 7-3 after beating the Steelers in Week 10 and the Jaguars dropped to 5-4 after collapsing against the Texans.
The vibes are likely quite different on either side coming into this matchup, but don’t mistake that for a lack of motivation for these teams. The Chargers will be spurred on by the idea of winning four consecutive games heading into their bye while the Jaguars are hungry to get back into the win column and to get this sour taste of defeat out of their mouths.
A big thank you to Gus for helping out us! Let’s go ahead and jump right in!
1.) From an outside perspective, the Jaguars have had an up-and-down season. They’re above .500 on the year with a win over the Chiefs on their resume, but they’re coming off one of the toughest regular season losses in recent memory. What’s the overall vibe around the team right now and how would you paint a picture of the team’s potential the rest of the season?
Liam Coen preached about battling through adversity all offseason, and Sunday is as good a test for that as any. A win over a fellow AFC playoff contender would be a huge momentum swing for this team. Vibes would be very high, especially with a soft schedule ahead and key players set to return from injury soon. The postseason is very much in reach. Players and coaches alike are surely eager to bounce back, and they should get a boost from being back at EverBank Stadium for the first time in over a month.
If the team loses on Sunday — which would be its fourth loss in five games — the locker room vibes could come close to matching that of the fanbase. At this time last week, 90% of our readers were confident in the direction of the team. That figure is now a season-low 59%. Another L would lead to a considerable spike in “2026 mock draft” Google searches out of Northeast Florida.
2.) Jacksonville has both a first-year head coach and a general manager. In their short time with the team thus far, what kind of a job does the fan base believe they’ve done with the team? Have they made more good decisions than bad? How would you describe their philosophy in regards to team building?
*Like any fanbase, Jaguars faithful have commended team brass during winning streaks and criticized them amid losing streaks. That’s especially true for general manager James Gladstone. Free agent additions C Robert Hainsey, RG Patrick Mekari, TE Hunter Long, SCB Jourdan Lewis, S Eric Murray, and OLB Dennis Gardeck looked like phenomenal investments to start the season, but Mekari’s play has dropped off, and Long, Lewis, and Murray are all...
