Report: Jaguars, Division Rival Have Similar Problems

Three of the four teams in the AFC South finished with losing records this season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans can attest that misery loves company.

Such is the case within the division in more ways than one, as those three teams have more in common than just losing records. Although the Jaguars had another disappointing season that resulted in former head coach Doug Pederson losing his job, Jacksonville is arguably the best setup for success moving forward between them, the Colts and the Titans.

Sterling Xie of Pro Football Focus recently ranked each team's defense following the conclusion of the regular season and the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Xie ranked the Titans' defense ahead of the Jaguars', even though the Jaguars swept the season series against the Titans.

"Similar to the [Chicago] Bears, the Titans’ defense was a talented unit that finally cracked under the strain of supporting a non-functional offense," Xie said. "The pass defense’s season-long numbers don’t do this unit justice. Tennessee ranked 10th in EPA per dropback from Weeks 1-9 but finished 29th from Weeks 10-18. Only the [Buffalo] Bills, [New York] Jets, and [New York] Giants had worse pass defenses over that stretch.

"Tennessee’s defense wasn’t bad for most of the year, and it helped the team steal a couple of wins (albeit not enough to lose the No. 1 overall pick). Still, the overall results are below average, and the unit has plenty of room to improve next season."

The Jaguars need to make numerous changes to their organization this offseason. They must also overhaul their roster while finding a new head coach, as it is not good enough to see sustained success.

Jacksonville has one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft and could secure one of the top head coaching prospects available this offseason. Still, the Jaguars may need more than that to be successful next season, as every team in the league will do their best to improve this offseason.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan and general manager Trent Baalke must figure out how to turn things around in Jacksonville before the Jaguars become even more synonymous with losing.

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