JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After starting the season 4-3, the Jaguars have gone on a tear and now find themselves leader in the AFC South. So what changed for the Jaguars? How did they become the leader in the dog house after the Colts had such a strong lead?
Since the bye, the Jaguars have scored 29.2 points per game en route to a 4-1 record.
Turnovers aside, the Jaguars’ offense is humming both through the air and on the ground. In fact, over the last five games, Lawrence is fourth in success rate among QBs and tied for third among total touchdowns.
The biggest factor towards this offensive enlightenment? Trevor Lawrence’s new receiving corps, and their attack over the middle of the field. The current receivers made up of Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Brenton Strange have provided the team with a level of consistency they previously lacked.
The addition of Jakobi Meyers is maybe the single largest change and what a change it has been. Meyers is hauling in 86% of his targets and already has two touchdowns in just four contests. He’s led the Jaguars in receiving three of his four games with the team and is second among AFC receivers in first down receptions since his arrival in Jacksonville.
Lawrence has historically not been a great passer over the middle of the field, so much so that the Doug Pederson offenses tried to avoid it as much as possible. Last season the Jags were 25th in targeting that area of the field. This season, they have moved all the way up to 10th.
It’s only recently, however, that it’s become a strength for Jacksonville. Since week 10, when Washington and Meyers became the focal points of the offense, Lawrence has completed 72% of passes over the middle, way up from his 60% completion rate from Weeks 1-8.
The offense is also more explosive now. Through the first eight weeks, the Jaguars averaged 6.71 yards per pass attempt over the middle. In the last five weeks, that number has shot up to a whopping 9.2 YPA.
I mentioned how much Meyers has impacted Lawrence and this offense’s comfort throwing over the middle. Well, against the Titans alone, Meyers caught five balls for 82 yards and a touchdown on in-breaking routes. There’s just a lot of trust through the air right now.
The attempts per game or yards might not have gone up, but the efficiency over the middle is night and day. To provide a more holistic number to represent this difference in play, Lawrence’s passer rating since the bye is an impressive 106.7 over the middle of the field, compared to the mere 73.7 through the first eight weeks.
Trevor Lawrence looks more comfortable now than ever before. Keep up the new offensive renaissance and this Jaguars’ team might just be AFC South champions when it’s all said and done. A strong passing attack is all this team was missing and right now this group is only growing more and more confident.
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