Jaguars Disrespected in Recent Absurd Power Rankings

It was understandable when fans and analysts still had reservations about the Jaguars after their first four games. They may have been 3-1, but that mark included two one-score wins against an uninspiring Houston Texans team, a banged-up iteration of the San Francisco 49ers, and a loss to Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals.

However, the Jaguars shut down any remaining doubt with a resounding upset over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a primetime slot for Monday Night Football. With Jacksonville upending the reigning AFC champions on national television, one would think that this team would finally start getting the respect it deserves.

The great advanced analytics debate

I'm a big fan of advanced analytics. Coming from an NBA background, I understand how box scores might not capture the full impact or performances of certain players and teams. One of my favorite players is Jimmy Butler, whose presence elevated the Golden State Warriors last season in a way that cannot be measured in standard stat sheets.

While numbers are objective, sports are subjective. Try as we might, we can never completely measure certain aspects of athletics. Things like confidence, momentum, and pressure simply cannot be quantified in any viable or meaningful way. That's why we watch the games.

Where do the Jaguars fall after Week 5?

Advanced analytics are great — with context. Without the relevant details to support them, they can be dangerously misleading. For example, Kevin Cole applies a unique formula to generate NFL power rankings after every week of the season. After the Jacksonville Jaguars toppled the Kansas City Chiefs, Cole had them... dropping two spots to 19th.

Keep in mind that Jacksonville has now notched wins over KC, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans. Cole ranked those teams third, 10th, and 16th after Week 5, respectively. Here's the rationale behind his placement of the Jaguars:

"Starting with the most recent results in Week 5, their victory over the Chiefs looked much better than the fundamentals indicated, with the adjusted scores seeing the Chiefs as 10 points better, perhaps the biggest swings I’ve ever seen.

The Jaguars offense is currently 16th in EPA per play, 14th in success rate and 16th in yards per play. The defense has [fared] a bit better at 6th, 16th and 10th, respectively. With an emphasis on the predictiveness of success rate versus higher variance metrics, the Jaguars appear roughly average both offensively and defensively."

Credit where credit is due, Cole's power rankings do prove one thing indisputably: that watching the games is better than advanced analytics in a vacuum.