Remember how the Jacksonville Jaguars finished the 2025 season? It was wild. From Week 10 on, they were the absolute best team in the NFL, rattling off an incredible 8-0 run where they outscored opponents by a staggering 153 points. That’s 51 points better than the *next* best team in that stretch. They flipped their record from a rough 4-13 to a dominant 13-4, snatched the AFC South title, and yet, here we are in 2026, and oddsmakers aren’t even picking them to win their own division, with the Houston Texans now the favorites.
Trevor Lawrence’s $55 Million Challenge
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the former No. 1 overall pick, had a monster 2025, finishing fifth in MVP voting and throwing for 29 touchdown passes, also good for fifth in the league, all under first-time head coach Liam Coen. But despite that insane second-half surge, the Jags still lost a super close game in the wild-card round. Now, the big question for Lawrence, who’s pulling down $55 million a year, isn’t just to match last year’s success but to sustain it and prove it wasn’t a fluke. This is a team that hasn’t hit the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 1999, so the pressure to keep that winning culture alive is real. As Lawrence himself put it after a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: “I think the whole idea of working your tail off out here and earning the right to be successful to win and to make plays, that’s a real thing. You’ve got to feel that as a team. If you don’t feel that, there is some doubt that can creep in. Are we ready? I know we’re not going to be asking ourselves that come Week 1. We’ve put the time in, put the work in, and we’ve got to continue to do that, and we need to get better.” It’s all about buying in and showing up, every single day.
Consistency is King for the Jags
For offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, it’s all about progress and consistency for Lawrence, even if it’s not a straight line. Udinski said he’s probably repeated it a thousand times: “Progress would probably be in there: process, consistency. But the consistency to show up day after day after day and build on what we had last year, but not take any of those details and fundamentals and foundational steps for granted and continue to work over and over and over again at those things, whether it’s a drop and technique and fundamentals or whether it’s a read or whether it’s just calling a certain play or a certain motion, all of those things are so important.” That kind of attention to detail is critical for everyone on offense, not just the quarterback, and Udinski clearly loves coaching Lawrence because he just keeps working at it. The focus is squarely on incremental progress, building on what they did right last year, and nailing the small stuff.
The ultimate goal for 2026 is crystal clear: make it back to the playoffs and then actually win when they get there. It’s a goal months down the road, but the grind starts now. This is a massive year for Lawrence and the Jags to prove they are the real deal and not just a one-season wonder. We’ll see how that consistency pays off when Week 1 kicks off!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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