Poll: Can the Jaguars upset Arizona on Sunday?
Not many expected that the Jaguars would be able to bounce back from a 1-15 season to playoff contention in Year 1 under the new regime led by coach Urban Meyer and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but progress has been more of a slow burn than some hoped.
After a disastrous Week 1 loss to the Houston Texans, the team played better in some ways against Denver last week. But the offense was overmatched against the Broncos defense and continued to struggle, while the defense didn’t look drastically better, either.
And now, the Jags face their toughest test of the early season so far against an Arizona Cardinals team that is playing at a very high level right now. Quarterback Kyler Murray is third in the NFL in passing yards with 689 to go with seven touchdowns and three picks, and he has a deep group of receivers to get the ball to, including Deandre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, and breakout rookie Rondale Moore, who leads the team in catches (11) and yards (182).
Defensively, the Cardinals have been one of the better teams against the pass so far this season, in large part due to the play of star edge rusher Chandler Jones, who has five sacks on the season (all of which he accrued in the opener against Tennessee).
That should make things difficult for Lawrence, whose decision-making and accuracy haven’t exactly been up to par so far through two games. The Cardinals only have one pick on the season, but if Lawrence doesn’t have a significantly better game this week, that total is likely to change.
This isn’t a very good matchup for Jacksonville, and it will need to demonstrate a level of play it hasn’t so far to stay competitive in this one. But with a talented rookie quarterback who is still finding his footing, that isn’t exactly an impossibility.
Do you think Jacksonville has what it takes to pull off the upset this week? Or will the Cardinals continue their undefeated start on Sunday? Let us know in the poll below.
