The Jacksonville Jaguars are riding high entering 2023. They erased a 27-0 deficit in the playoffs last year vs. the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round, becoming the first team to win a playoff game after having the worst record the previous year, and are now the odds-on favorite to win the AFC South. Plus, they appear to have a franchise quarterback.
Former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence improved in a big way from his rookie season to Year 2. In fact, according to NFL Research, Lawrence’s passer rating going from 71.9 in 2021 to 95.2 in 2022 is the largest increase in NFL history for any quarterback who threw at least 400 passes in each of his first two seasons, per Pro Football Talk. It’s the largest increase in passer rating by a No. 1 pick from Year 1 to Year 2 since Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who did not throw 400 passes in his first two seasons).
While Lawrence’s second season was impressive, he really picked up the pace in the second part of that second season. The Clemson product threw 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the final nine games of the regular season while the Jags went 7-2 and made the playoffs for the first time since their AFC Championship run back in 2017.
Turns out having Doug Pederson instead of Urban Meyer as your head coach makes a big difference. The Jaguars finally have a franchise quarterback, and there’s no reason to believe 2023 won’t be a fun season in Duval County.
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