Big Cat Country
Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable!
Today, we’re reviewing Jacksonville’s season so far as the team returns from its bye week.
Question 1: Based on your preseason expectations, what’s one way the 2025 Jaguars have proven you right, and one way they’ve proven you wrong?
Dillon Appleman: I was very concerned about the pass rush heading into this season, and it’s already safe to say I was proven right. The team is dead last in the league in sacks (8) and simply can’t get to the quarterback when rushing four. It’s starting to become a big issue that trickles down to the success of the defense as a whole.
Travis Holmes: The performance of the safety room has been identical to my preseason expectations, as I was high on Eric Murray’s film earlier this offseason, while being questionable on Andrew Wingard’s athletic limitations on the backend. However, the play of Devin Lloyd and the backup Edge group (Emmanuel Ogbah and Dawuane Smoot) were both misses for me. I questioned how Lloyd would perform in Anthony Campanile’s defense, and he has put many of those questions to bed. While being encouraged by the team making multiple depth additions at DE after staying pat there for multiple seasons, my early faith in Smoot and Ogbah may have been premature, based on the limited pass rush production.
Gus Logue: Brian Thomas Jr. has proven me wrong. Maybe something is going on behind the scenes — he doesn’t seem to be fully healthy — but it’s been sad to see Thomas’ average receiving yards per game drop from 75.4 as a rookie to 52.1 this season. I thought he would be a world-beater in Liam Coen’s offense. I also thought that Travis Etienne would have a bounceback campaign, so watching him outperform the public’s expectations this season has been fun.
Henry Zimmer: A way the Jags have proven me right is that they could win the AFC South. After Sunday, it looks a little further away, but they are still in the mix, which is something I thought they could/would do. They have proven me wrong by being much duller on offense than expected. Penalties, drops, and offensive line play have held the team back, but this team is nowhere near where I and many thought they would be operating.
Question 2: What is the biggest thing holding the Jaguars back from Super Bowl contention?
Dillon: Typically, real Super Bowl contenders have at least one real elite positional unit (or at least close to) on either side of the ball. The Jaguars don’t have one position group that even sniffs that level of praise right now. With just good to average across the board, it’s difficult to see a path for the Jags to compete with the league’s best come playoff time.
Travis: The “easy” answer is to say it’s on the quarterback and pin the issues there. The more complex answer is: the entire passing operation is holding them back. The quarterback...
