Jaguars’ playoff appearance didn’t happen overnight
As the home JACKSONVILLE — crowd reveled in the wave and a “playoffs” chant, Telvin Smith huddled with his fellow Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers on the sideline and soaked it all in.
That was the extent of his celebration.
The Jaguars (10-4) ended a decade-long playoff drought with a 45-7 thrashing of AFC South rival Houston on Sunday. Smith and his teammates refused to get caught up in the party. At least for now.
After all, the Jaguars see themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. It’s a significant about-face for a franchise that lost 102 of its previous 144 games heading into this season.
“We understand what we did, but there’s no reason to go crazy,” Smith said. “We still have a lot in front us. It’s great that we made the playoffs. I’m telling you, we’re excited; it was our goal this week. At the same time, that don’t mean nothing until we get there.”
Having finished with double-digit losses each of the last six seasons, the Jags have double-digit wins for the first time since 2007. Reaching this point might seem like an overnight feat, but it really started years ago.
It’s impossible to identify a sole reason for Jacksonville’s improbable rise.
Offense. Defense. Special teams. Coaching. Tom Cough- lin. Any of those could be justified.
More precise is the Jaguars nailed nearly every major move they made over the last two years, a series of successful decisions that overhauled the roster, changed the culture and established the foundation for what has happened on the field. The results have been evident all season: Jacksonville has nine wins by 10 or more points and six by at least 20.
Here’s a look at the pivotal choices that fueled the franchise’s face-lift from also-ran to division leader.
■ Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus: The Jaguars traded for the 340-pound run-stopper in late October, and the defense has steadily improved since. Jacksonville ranked 31st against the run when Dareus joined the team and now ranks 20th.
■ Kicker Josh Lambo: The team cut Jason Myers in October after six games that included three misses beyond 50 yards. Lambo replaced him and turned in the best season by a kicker in franchise history, making 17 of 18 field goals (94.4 percent) and 19 of 20 extra points.
■ Quarterback Blake Bortles: He has 19 touchdown passes, two rushing scores, eight interceptions and two fumbles. He also has been sacked a career-low 21 times.
■ Draft, 2017: Jacksonville added bruising running back Leonard Fournette and massive left tackle Cam Robinson with their top two picks. Both have flourished as rookie starters and helped establish the offense’s smash-mouth approach. Throw in receiver Dede Westbrook in the fourth round, and it’s one of the more notable drafts in team history.
■ Free age ncy, 2017: There’s little doubt Jacksonville’s free-agent class was the best in the league this year and tops in franchise history. The Jags signed defensive end Calais Campbell (4 years, $60 million), cornerback A.J. Bouye (5 years, $67.5 million) and safety Barry Church (4 years, $26 million) — three standout defenders who fit perfectly in the scheme. Campbell has a team-record and AFC-leading 14½ sacks. Bouye has six interceptions and hasn’t allowed a touchdown pass all season. And Church has become the secondary’s leader.