Heading into the 2023 NFL regular season, the Jacksonville Jaguars were expected to be one of the better teams in the AFC and the team to beat in the AFC South division, with no other team in the division was thought to be a legitimate threat to Trevor Lawrence and company.
Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the Houston Texans turned out to be the real deal this year, even with a rookie quarterback leading the way, as C.J. Stroud seemed to be the missing piece to the puzzle for the struggling franchise.
As a result of the Texans winning the AFC South crown, the Jaguars had a lot of pressure on them to beat the division-rival Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but fell short and now have been eliminated from playoff contention, meaning their season comes to an end in disappointing fashion.
One of the critical plays that led to the loss for the Jaguars in Week 18 was a quarterback sneak by Lawrence at the goal line, which ended without a touchdown.
OH MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/wc7k7PjAWl
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 7, 2024
Lawrence took responsibility for making the call to go for the sneak after the game via James Palmer of NFL Network.
“If you do it you better score and I didn’t,” Lawrence said.
“If you do it you better score and I didn’t.” – Trevor Lawrence on deciding to make the call himself at the line to run a QB sneak on 4th and goal from the 1. It sounds like it was a run call, but Lawrence made the call himself to sneak it. The Jaguars trust him and let him make… pic.twitter.com/6nC1TfmTTX
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 7, 2024
Last year, the Jaguars were one of the most surprising teams in the AFC, with Lawrence starting to live up to expectations and Jacksonville looking like the team of the future.
With the team missing the playoffs this year, the Jaguars took a step back rather than a giant leap forward while also seeing a formidable division opponent emerge in the Texans led by Stroud.
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