The One Thing Jaguars Josh Hines-Allen Isn't Focused On

The Jacksonville Jaguars are going into their 31st season of National Football League play, and they are about to see a long-time franchise record broken. But the man about to become the "King of Sacksonville" isn't focused on that accolade. He's thinking much bigger when it comes to tackling opposing quarterbacks behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.

Josh Hines-Allen needs a mere 2.5 sacks to pass up one of the pioneers of the early days, Tony Brackens, who joined the team in their second season of play in '96. Allen spoke on his mentality going into this season, about breaking the franchise sack record, and his focus is surprisingly elsewhere when it comes to sack numbers.

Josh Hines-Allen, “23 sacks. That’s the NFL record.

"I think all pass rushers should strive for that goal, like every team strives to win a Super Bowl. So, I think my goal is to break the record and not really focus on it. Just know that if I handle what I need to handle, stay healthy, know what I'm doing, communicate, anticipate what's happening to me, anticipate passing, kind of be quicker on that, then everything's going to play off the way it’s supposed to," said the 28-year-old pass rusher.

The Jaguars' win-loss record is obviously the principal focus of Josh, but passing the mark of 23.5 sacks set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and tied by T.J. Watt in 2021 would be major for the franchise, as it woud hint to an improvement in results for the team as a whole. But does JHA have the supporting cast arround him to accomplish this grand feat?

Josh Hines-Allen on if he thinks the defense will flourish enough to allow him to break the single-season sack record

“100 percent. I mean, don't ask me. You can ask the coaches, because they tell me all the time, this is what we want to do. Okay. But they're the ones that's going to call the plays. You talk to Coach Camp [Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile], you have guys that can go get the passer. Go get the passer. Cool. So, now let's do it. Let's show it. Let me prove to you. But I've already proved it. Tray’s {DE Travon Walker] proved it. Let's just continue to do it."

"The more reps we get, the more ops [opportunities] we get, the higher percentage that we're goingto get pressures. We're going to get hits. We're going to get sacks. We're going to get batted passes. We're going to get more plays even in the run game. Hell, it's going to affect us in the run game, more tackles for losses."

Barring catastrophe, Hines-Allen will be the all-time leader in the franchise history of the Jacksonville Jaguars, most likely, somewhere in the first few weeks of the season, and that benefits everybody in Duval.

With 17.5 sacks in 2023, the prospect of 23 for Josh Hines-Allen is a distinct possibility. If that possibility becomes reality, then the Jaguars will be moving up in the conference standings as well.

That's the ultimate goal.

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