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Jacksonville Jaguars status check, what's working (run game), what's not (penalties)
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- Jacksonville Jaguars status check, what's working (run game), what's not (penalties)
A year ago through four games, the Jacksonville Jaguars were the NFL's only winless team and already headed toward sweeping changes by ownership.
Now? Through the first four games, the Jaguars are 3-1 , and are tied with Indianapolis for the AFC South lead. They have one of the league's best running games and they do have the league's best takeaway unit.
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Plenty of things are working … but plenty of things need work.
Here is a list entering Monday night's home game against the Kansas City Chiefs :
MORE FROM O'HALLORAN: Led by Liam Coen, Jaguars show they won't back down to anybody vs. 49ers
What's working?
Run offense/defense:The Jaguars want to control the line of scrimmage and the run-game statistics confirm their progress.
The Jaguars rank fourth in both rushing yards (144.0) and rushing yards allowed (82.4) per game and rank sixth in yards (5.01) and eighth in yards allowed (3.89) per carry.
On offense, Travis Etienne is third in the NFL with 394 yards and tied for 10th in carries (65).
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On defense, the Jaguars have allowed only three explosive rushes (gain of at least 12 yards) and it includes one quarterback scramble and hook-and-ladder lateral apiece.
Takeaways:The Jaguars' 13 takeaways are most in franchise history for Games 1-4 , three more than any other team ( Pittsburgh ) and 25 teams don't have half as many takeaways. The New York Jets have zero.
The Jaguars lead the NFL in interceptions (nine) and turnover differential (plus-9) and have posted three, three, three and four takeaways in their four games. They are on pace for 55.3 takeaways.
Since 2000, the takeaway high is the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens (55). Since the 17-game season was introduced in 2020, the highest total is 34 by the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.
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Pass protection:The Jaguars didn't allow a sack, knockdown or pressure against San Francisco and enter October with only three sacks allowed, tied for fewest in the league with Denver .
The Jaguars' next three opponents are tied for 12th (Kansas City, 10), sixth ( Seattle , 12) and tied for second ( Los Angeles Rams , 14) in sacks.
Red zone defense:The Jaguars rank fifth in red zone defense (4 of 9, 44.4%).
Carolina and Houston had only one red-zone possession apiece and Cincinnati went 3 of 4 in Week 2. But the 49ers were 1 of 3 and settled for field goals after reaching the Jaguars' 7- and 5-yard lines.
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Edge rusher play:The Jaguars have received consistent play from starters Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker .
I have credited Hines-Allen with 18½ pass-rush disruptions (½ sacks, 12½ pressures and 5½ knockdowns) and Walker with 12 disruptions (two sacks, seven pressures and two knockdown).
Walker sustained a left wrist injury against San Francisco and if he misses time, the onus turns to Emmanuel Ogbah to play starter-level snaps.
What needs work?
Penalties:The Jaguars have a league-high 38 enforced penalties and have won two games when committing at least 11 penalties (Carolina 11 and San Francisco 12).
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The offense must clean things up. They have 10 enforced holding calls, seven false starts, two delay of games and only one of their six illegal shift flags has been enforced.
Sep 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) reacts after a play during the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Big pass plays:Only 17 of quarterback Trevor Lawrence 's 84 completions (20.2%) have resulted in explosive gains (at least 16 yards).
The Jaguars are tied for 24th in 20-yard completions (eight), but the number that illustrates the lack of big plays is yards per attempt (5.9, 26th).
Brian Thomas Jr. has one catch of longer than 18 yards and Travis Hunter two of longer than 20.
Third down offense/defense:The Jaguars are 26th in third down offense (35.2%) and the defense is 29th (opponents converting 45.6%).
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On offense, Lawrence's third-down completion rate of 50.9 is 29th out of 31 quarterbacks with another attempts to quality for league statistics. The Jaguars are 8 of 29 (27.6%) in their last two games and are particularly bad on third-and-short (3 or fewer yards to go), 6 of 16 (37.5%).
On defense, the Jaguars need to button up their third-and-short work; opponents are 10 of 16 when needing 1-3 yards. The Jaguars have allowed only four of 20 conversions when the opponent needed at least 8 yards.
Red zone offense:The Jaguars have scored eight touchdowns in 16 red zone trips (50.0%, 21st in the league).
In the loss at Cincinnati, the Jaguars were 3 of 6, including two empty trips (interception and failed fourth down).
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Against the 49ers, the Jaguars ran only four total red zone snaps, but scored on a 4-yard touchdown catch by tight end Hunter Long and got in position for a Cam Little 26-yard field goal as the first half ended.
Lawrence's accuracy: Lawrence's completion rate is 58.3 , which is 25th among the 27 quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts, ahead of only Cleveland 's Joe Flacco (who was benched Wednesday) and Tennessee 's Cam Ward (who is a rookie on a woeful team). Fifteen quarterbacks are at least 67%.
Granted, Lawrence has been impacted by our charted 12 dropped passes (none against San Francisco, though), but more efficiency should be expected from Lawrence.
O'Halloran can be reached at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars status check, what's working and what needs work
