Few teams come out of Week 1 with a clearer identity than the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Trevor Lawrence knows that still may not be enough to change how the national crowd sees them.
Lawrence said the outside noise doesn’t do much for him, even after a performance that had him looking like one of the best players in football.
"I think all that stuff is funny because I've been through a lot of good and bad and it doesn't move the needle much for me. It is what it is.
I think our team played well on Sunday, so hopefully our whole team's getting a little bit of credit for it, but at the end of the day we got another one this Sunday in Denver. People forget pretty quickly in this league, whether it's good or bad, so we got to move on," Lawrence said.
That’s the backdrop for the latest round of Week 2 power rankings, where the Jaguars are trying to turn a big opening week into some real national respect.
Some outlets are already buying in. Jacksonville legend Pete Prisco has the Jaguars all the way up at No. 2, and one ranking pegs them at No. 3 behind the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. That’s a strong showing, and it lines up with the belief that the Jaguars have already done enough to belong near the top.
But not everyone is there yet.
ESPN had Jacksonville at a baffling No. 17 before the season, and while the network is still working its way toward a correction, the Jaguars are clearly going to need more wins before they get into the top 10 where they belong. A victory over the Broncos in Week 2 would help a lot.
There are also rankings that still keep Jacksonville out of the top 10, with one writer saying, "I’ll be way more impressed if the Jags do this against anyone other than the Browns." That kind of thinking doesn’t leave much room for the Jaguars to move anyone.
Other lists put the Jaguars behind teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Broncos, which makes the order hard to defend. Jacksonville could end up settling that argument soon, since two of those teams are on the schedule in the next two weeks.
A few rankings have the Jaguars trailing only the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, and Seahawks. That gives Jacksonville a chance to close the gap quickly, especially with a Bengals matchup coming up in just a few weeks.
Another outlet places the Jaguars behind the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Ravens, Seahawks, and Bills. Three of those five teams are among the only five to beat the Jaguars during the Liam Coen era, though Jacksonville did beat the 49ers on the road a year ago.
And one more ranking has the Jaguars behind the Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Bills, and Seahawks. Jacksonville split with Houston last season and will see the Texans again in Week 6 in what should be a major AFC South test.
For now, the Jaguars sit in that familiar spot: praised in some corners, doubted in others, and still waiting for the kind of week-to-week results that make the debate disappear.
In Other News...
Jaguars Fans Wont Love Which Top Target Is Now In Baltimores Orbit
Baltimores receiver room has thinned enough to keep rival front offices watching, with Ja'Kobi Lane now on injured reserve and Zay Flowers also dealing with injuries. That has pushed the Ravens toward the trade market in search of help, and Bleacher Reports Kristopher Knox connected them to Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr., a name that will naturally get attention in Jacksonville whenever another team starts looking for a big-play target.
Still, this is the kind of rumor that feels more logical on paper than in practice. The Jaguars have already brushed aside trade chatter, and Thomas is the sort of player they would be expected to build around rather than move, especially with his contract and standing on the roster. So while Baltimores need is real, the path to an actual deal looks steep, and for Jaguars fans, the better news may be that this is one of those speculative links that is easy to write and much harder to turn into anything concrete. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Still Have Extra Juice For Sean Payton After That Jab
Sean Paytons old smaller market jab at Jacksonville has not been forgotten inside the Jaguars building, and it still hangs around as a little extra fuel whenever these two teams come up. The remark became a rallying point last season, when Jacksonville beat Denver 34-20 in December and snapped the Broncos 11-game winning streak, turning what could have been a routine regular-season win into something the Jaguars clearly enjoyed savoring.
Liam Coen has already acknowledged the comment helped motivate the team, and he said he even discussed it with Payton at league meetings. So while the game itself is long over, the edge from that exchange has not fully gone away, and it adds a little more texture any time Jacksonville crosses paths with Denver or its coach again. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Have A New Edge Concern Heading Into Week 2
The Jaguars pass rush took an immediate hit coming out of Week 1, with defensive end B.J. Green II landing on injured reserve after an elbow injury. In a corresponding move, Jacksonville signed B.J. Ojulari to help patch the edge depth as the team turns its attention to Week 2, where the injury report already has the usual early-season clutter with several other players limited in practice but still expected to suit up.
For a defense that needs as many available bodies on the edge as possible, Greens absence changes the calculation a bit, even before the Jaguars get to Sundays game plan. The Broncos are carrying their own concern list, with Harvey and Mims both missing practice because of injuries, and their status will be one more thing to watch as Jacksonville tries to manage its front seven heading into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]