Jaguars go as Trevor Lawrence goes; Colts WR Alec Pierce excels: AFC South takeaways

By Ben Arthur
FOX Sports AFC South Writer

A couple of weeks ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were the NFL‘s “it” team, riding the high off consecutive victories of 20-plus points. They drew national attention, showing signs of a rapid ascension out of the NFL’s bottom under new coach Doug Pederson. 

Since then, they’ve lost two straight — to the NFL’s best team (the Eagles) and worst team (Texans) — in games during which they left way too much on the field. It’s created a befuddling picture of the 2022 Jaguars. 

Are they actually a good team? Or were the back-to-back dominant wins an outlier? 

The real Jaguars (2-3) look closer to average — and it’s because of Trevor Lawrence and the offense. 

“We’re going to get better, and that’s the thing, we can’t panic,” Lawrence said after losing to the Texans. “We’re a good football team, and we believe that. We just have to play like it.”

Jacksonville’s defense, one of the best in the NFL through five weeks, is the reason the team had a chance to win both the games it lost. The Jaguars fell to the Eagles by just a score despite Lawrence’s five turnovers. The defense even got the offense the ball back — after stopping Philadelphia on fourth down deep in plus territory — with 1:54 left and a chance to force overtime, only for a Lawrence sack fumble on first down to end the game. 

Last week, the Jaguars’ defense held the Texans to 13 points, a victory in most cases. But the offense went 0-for-3 in the red zone and fourth down. The Jaguars moved with ease between the 20s, only to have nothing to show for it. They had 422 yards of offense, their most in a game without scoring a touchdown in franchise history, according to ESPN.

Lawrence’s struggles were the constant in both losses, showing that the inconsistency that defined his rookie season — when he threw a league-high 17 interceptions — is still a major issue for him. Against the Eagles, all three times he was sacked resulted in turnovers. Against the Texans, poor decisions (like his bad end-zone pass intercepted by rookie cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.) and some off-target throws played a role in the Jaguars’ empty drives. 

Lawrence earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, a testament to strong decision-making, spreading the ball around and efficiency in the intermediate passing game. 

Through two games in October, he has seven giveaways.

“I haven’t lost any confidence,” Lawrence said.   

Until the former No. 1 overall pick finds consistency, the Jaguars are bound to be a middling team. 

“I think that we as a staff have to figure out a way to kind of get him settled into the game, number one,” Pederson said Sunday. “Then Trevor has to make sure that he is in a good spot. He sees the field well. We just have to continue to keep throwing and keep putting him in situations like that. … He will get better. I’m not worried about that at all. 

“We have a lot of faith and trust in him, and he can definitely do the job. We’ve seen it this season,” Pederson added. “We just have to keep working on him.”

Other thoughts from across the AFC South:

Titans exceeding expectations with short-handed D-line

The Titans lost their top pass rusher, Harold Landry, to a torn ACL before the season. Their other starting outside linebacker, Bud Dupree, has already missed two games and been limited in two others. 

As a result, no one would’ve been surprised to see this defensive line, Tennessee’s biggest strength last season, take a big step back. 

Instead, it has continued to ascend. 

Through five weeks, the Titans are tied for eighth in the NFL in sacks (13) and rushing yards allowed per game (103.2), 11th in hurries (18) and 13th in pressures (46). They’re one of three teams — the Cowboys and Eagles the others — to have three players with at least three sacks. 

Tennessee had the third-best defensive line in the league entering Week 5, according to Next Gen Stats analytics. That’s before the Titans had seven quarterback hits and allowed just 46 rushing yards against the Commanders on Sunday.

The defensive-line play is one of the biggest reasons why the Titans (3-2) are atop the AFC South on a three-game winning streak, in spite of an inconsistent offense and a pass defense that is tied for the most touchdowns allowed (12) and allowing 287.6 passing yards per game, second worst in the league. 

The defensive-line tandem of Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry has continued to dominate like last season. The two have combined for 21 pressures (hurries, knockdowns and sacks) and five tackles for loss in five games. And the emergence of outside linebacker Rashad Weaver and nose tackle Teair Tart have helped a short-handed Titans’ front stay elite. 

Weaver, who played just two games as a rookie due to injury, has a team-leading four sacks and four tackles for loss. 

Tart, in addition to clogging up space in the run game, has a team-leading five passes defended. 

Colts WR Alec Pierce is special 

The Colts (2-2-1) have a myriad of offensive concerns that aren’t improving — Matt Ryan‘s fumbling issues, shaky pass protection and slow starts among them — but second-round rookie receiver Alec Pierce is proving that he was a home-run draft pick. 

In last week’s Thursday Night Football showdown against the Broncos that was won with defense, the Colts leaned on Pierce in the drive at the end of the fourth quarter that forced overtime. He had three receptions for 33 yards on the series. 

The former Cincinnati star has at least 61 receiving yards in each of the past three games, including 80-plus in the past two. Overall, he has 15 receptions for 222 yards, second on the Colts. 

Pierce has looked like a legitimate No. 2 receiver behind Michael Pittman Jr. 

“It confirms what I thought,” Ryan said of Pierce after Thursday’s win. “I thought he was going to be a tough, resilient player. I knew he had great hands. You just hoped he was a gamer — and he is. There is no doubt about it.”

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.