The Jacksonville Jaguars’ record doesn’t show it, but there have been few teams this competitive week in and week out in 2024. There has only been one game in which the Jaguars simply never participated , and this one took place in Buffalo last week. 3.

Week after week, the Jaguars find themselves in one-score games that go down to the wire against top contenders. In the last six weeks alone, they have lost in the final seconds to the Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Texans have been chosen as Super Bowl contenders this year. The Packers were in the NFC championship game a year ago. The Eagles nearly won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago.

And the Jaguars hung out with them all. In fact, the Jaguars should have won all three games. The Jaguars’ 2-7 record doesn’t reflect how tough they’ve been in almost every game this season.

But none of that matters. It shouldn’t. Not to owner Shad Khan, not to head coach Doug Pederson, not to general manager Trent Baalke.

Not just anyone.

The Jaguars’ 1-5 record in one-score games this year is the worst in the NFL; To date, they are the only team this year to lose five games by a score of just one. But it’s not a badge of honor, and Khan should see that clearly.

Khan made his expectations clear this summer. He wants to compete every week, but more importantly, he wants to win. And the The Jaguars locker room heard it. The coaching staff heard it. The reception heard it.

And to answer Khan’s point, the Jaguars have been competitive. Only two of their games this year have been decided by more than one score. But Khan’s mandate wasn’t for the Jaguars to be the most competitive players in the AFC. It wasn’t up to the Jaguars to be the team that wins almost every Sunday.

Instead, Khan’s mandate was for the Jaguars to win. Win now. Almost don’t win. I don’t have the worst record in the league in single-score games.

And, for whatever reason, the Jaguars couldn’t finish those games. The Jaguars would be a different team today if their one-score record were reversed. They would be 6-3 and on track for the playoffs.

As such, their close quarters combat is nothing to be proud of. Rather, it’s an obstacle that has kept the Jaguars from becoming the team Khan and everyone else knows they should be.

When it comes to making decisions about the Jaguars’ future, Khan shouldn’t take close games as a sign that they’re almost there. He should look at close games as a reason why a change should happen.

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