JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton and team reporter Kainani Stevens offer quick thoughts on the Jaguars as they enter a Week 8 bye.

John Oehser, Jaguars Senior Writer…

Not the time for panic. Here’s one reality: The Jaguars have lost two consecutive games for the first time under Liam Coen, and they looked really bad at times in a 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium this past Sunday. But a second reality is just as true and that’s that the Jaguars are 4-3 through seven games with three “quality victories” over teams with winning records, including victories over the perennially strong San Francisco 49ers and the three-time defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The thought here before the season was the Jaguars were probably a seven-to-nine victory team with a chance to get to 10 victories if they were healthy and a lot went right. The thought here was also that the Jaguars somewhere during the season would sustain two or three one-sided losses because teams adjusting to new regimes usually have a few “ugh” games. Sunday undoubtedly was an “ugh” game, but the Jaguars very much have a chance to win nine or 10 games and compete for the postseason. To do so, they must get back to their early-season identity and they must get and stay healthy. They also need to catch very catchable passes more consistently. Those aren’t incredibly big asks. Either way, there’s no reason to give up on this season. This is what contending for the postseason looks like – some downs a long the way to go with the ups. On to the second half.
Clean it up. If the penalties and avoidable errors that have been a season-long for the Jaguars aren’t a full-blown crisis, they have grown into enough of a concern that they’re threatening to define the season. Head Coach Liam Coen addressed it as such in his lone media availability of the week, saying repeatedly that the Jaguars must clean up this area and perhaps summarizing his thoughts on the matter when he said, “We are a really good football team, but not when we hurt ourselves.” This issue was on full display in a loss to the Rams Sunday, when repeated early Jaguars mistakes produced repeated bad down-and-distance situations that led to punts on their first three possessions. The cleaner-playing Rams by contrast faced third-and-long just once on their first four possessions. They punted on that possession and scored touchdowns on the other three to take a 21-0 lead. Coen’s right that the Jaguars are good. They’re 4-3 for a reason. If they can’t reduce the avoidable errors, they won’t get a chance to show it.