FOLIO
Words by Quinn Gray (Gray’s Gridiron) and photos by Sam Kaplan (SK Photography)
The first four weeks of the NFL season weren’t kind to the Jaguars. And unfortunately, the fans weren’t either.
“Worst team in the NFL!”
“Travis Hunter, YOU are a Jacksonville Jaguar!”
“What happened to these guys?”
Seemingly every media personality, armchair quarterback, and football fanatic had something to say about the 2024 Jaguars.
Going into Week 5 of this season, the Jaguars had gone 3-10 since last year’s bye week, and the team was in desperate need of a spark. Enter the Indianapolis Colts — a team that hasn’t won against the Jaguars in Duval since Week 3 of 2014, during former Colts QB Andrew Luck’s third year in the league and Jaguars legend Blake Bortles’ rookie year. A win in Jacksonville is like a Super Bowl championship for those guys.
It was only fitting that the Jaguars wore their brand-new “Prowler” throwbacks for this game. Harkening back to the team’s glory days of the late ’90s, the uniforms are legendary in the eyes of Jaguars fans, a reminder of some of Duval’s most dominant squads. In fact, one could have mistaken Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. for Mark Brunell and Jimmy Smith with their seemingly unstoppable connection, including an 85-yard touchdown that sent Colts defensive back Dallis Flowers diving (and off the Colts roster Monday morning).
The win wasn’t easy — in true Cardiac Cats fashion, the two teams were neck-and-neck until the very end. Despite the Jaguars taking a 20-10 lead during the third quarter, Colts QB Joe Flacco rallied his team to scoring 24 points in the second half, with the fourth quarter being an absolute shootout between both teams. In the end, it was rookie kicker Cam Little who won the game for the Jaguars, scoring a clutch 49-yard field goal to put the Jaguars up 37-34, followed by a sack by Travon Walker to put the nail in the coffin for the Colts.
Sophomore running back Tank Bigsby put the Jaguars on his back in the second half, scoring two huge touchdowns to keep the team ahead, with both being in spectacular fashion. Bigsby barreled his way through Colts defenders on a 19-yard run, living up to his name and scoring his first touchdown of the season. Later on in the game, during the fourth quarter, Bigsby broke tackles from multiple Colts on a 65-yard touchdown, extending the team’s lead. Bigsby currently leads the NFL in yards per carry (8.0) among qualified players.
The performance for the offensive line was critical to the Jaguars’ win. Lawrence was not sacked once during the game, and the entire line was credited with only one pressure all game. Left guard Ezra Cleveland was especially reliable, receiving a 91.1 overall grade on Pro Football Focus. It’s an encouraging sign for a unit that has been notoriously inconsistent over the last year and a half.
Third-year edge rusher and former first overall pick Travon Walker had himself a day as well, notching three sacks, including a huge forced fumble that led to a Josh Hines-Allen recovery and set up a Cam Little field goal to end the first half. Walker has been fantastic for the Jaguars’ defensive line so far this season, leading the team in sacks through five games with 5.0. Walker has yet to miss a tackle this season (per Pro Football Reference) and is currently tied for fifth in the league in sacks.
In addition to the win, the Pride of the Jacksonville Jaguars has earned a new member — legendary coach Tom Coughlin. Coughlin coached the team from 1995-2002 and was at the helm for the Jaguars’ four straight playoff berths from 1996-1999. He is the seventh member of the Pride and the first head coach to be inducted. Coughlin has remained active in the community since his coaching days with the Jay Fund, a non-profit he founded that is dedicated to tackling childhood cancer. Congratulations, Coach!
The icing on the (cup)cake for Sunday’s win was that it fell on franchise quarterback Lawrence’s 25th birthday. Lawrence played his heart out for the team, hitting a career-high in passing yards (371) and two touchdowns, while connecting on 82.4% of his passes. Lawrence has developed a rapport with rookie wideout Thomas, who leads the team in receiving yards and is currently sixth among all wide receivers in the league with 397. It was a great bounce-back game from Lawrence, who has been under pressure thus far this season to live up to his massive five-year contract awarded to him before this year. After the game, “Folio”’ photographer Sam Kaplan captured Lawrence enjoying a birthday treat — an aptly colored teal and black cupcake fit for The Prince. 
The Jaguars’ victory was critical to the rest of the season. An 0-4 start is difficult to return from, but this was the first step. One team has made the postseason after starting 0-4 (1992 San Diego Chargers), and the Jaguars hope to be the second. Jaguars fans need to remember that the 2022 squad that reached the divisional round of the playoffs was 3-7 before the bye week, only to finish 9-8, first in the AFC South.
The team travels to London (an environment where the Jaguars went 2-0 in last season) for Weeks 6 and 7 against Chicago and New England. The Jaguars’ young building blocks continue to improve weekly, and TE Evan Engram is on the verge of returning to the team after injury. Don’t count this team out.
Put away those mock drafts, folks. The only Tank in Duval is the one averaging eight yards a carry.
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