Big Cat Country
The most talented team in franchise history has concluded its season.
What a fitting end to that season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars ended their 2024-25 campaign with an overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts, 26-23. It was the team’s 10th one-score loss of the season marking the first time since 1966 an NFL team had ever accomplished the feat.
Jacksonville finished its year with a 4-13 record and will go into the offseason with the fifth overall pick. Division rival Tennessee Titans own the No. 1 overall spot.
Of the seasons to forget, this one was up there with some of the worst. The Jags never truly recovered from Travis Etienne’s fumble in Miami and consequently fumbled away the rest of their time on the field.
There will hopefully be sweeping changes on Black Monday that help put this team back on some sort of track. Because whatever we saw these last couple weeks was about as off-track as this franchise could get.
WINNERS
Brian Thomas Jr.
While this past season as a whole has been one to erase from memory, the emergence of Brian Thomas Jr. should stand as one of the lone things to remember. The LSU rookie ended his season with 87 catches, 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He could have had an 11th touchdown Sunday but let’s move forward.
He set the franchise records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for a rookie. He is top among his draft class in terms of receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Finally, Thomas finished as one of just four rookies in the Super Bowl Era (1966 and beyond) to post 1,100 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. This was all done with a mostly hobbled Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones under center.
The Jacksonville Jaguars do not hit on draft picks often. They hit on first-rounders even less. However, by some divine intervention, the team moved back and got Thomas Jr. And for that, we owe Trent Baalke a small thank you.
Special Teamers
On a lesser, but still significant note, the Jaguars have some solid special teamers.
Duval County will send two Pro Bowlers to compete in Orlando as starters in long snapper Ross Matiscik and punter Logan Cooke, while the team does have some alternates.
It is the second consecutive Pro Bowl for Matiscik and finally the first for Cooke. Both players are about as solid as they come at their positions and were rewarded as such.
Even on Sunday, Cooke did all he could by knocking one of his punts within the 10-yard line. He has had seven straight seasons putting at least 11 punts within the 10 and is one of just four players to do so since 2000.
The team’s other kicker, rookie Cam Little, has also been an absolute stud. Little went 3-3 on Sunday with a long of 53. Little connected on 92.3% of his field goal tries and was 100% on extra points. The three positions the Jags absolutely do...
