Underdog Mike Vrabel strikes again! The Tennessee Titans coach might be leaving Nashville, but he did so with a bang. You can see why he got testy with a reporter who asked him about the importance of winning earlier this week.
Credit to Vrabel and all, but the bigger story here — although the Titans’ impending potential overhaul is compelling — is the absolute choke job the Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off. They lost five of their last six games, including Sunday’s 28-20 defeat in Tennessee.
Not to mention, the Jags’ loss took most of the anticipation out of the AFC Wild Card race before the 4:25 p.m. ET window of the Week 18 slate!
One of the reactions to this news really struck me. I swear the football gods are on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ side more than anyone else. They refuse to let Mike Tomlin have a losing season no matter how sh*tty their quarterback play and offense are.
And apparently, when a Jaguars player defaces a Terrible Towel, it’s a full-blown, divine, f*ck around and find out scenario.
What went wrong in Jacksonville, though? I know their golden boy QB Trevor Lawrence is playing through a lot of pain. Like a legit high ankle sprain. Lawrence makes quality throws at times in spite of the major injury he’s gutting through.
You can’t tell me this is his actual normal self:
Calvin Ridley has had so many drops and blown opportunities at big plays this season, too. For the flashes of brilliance Ridley did have (see: 59-yard TD catch today), there were far too many of these:
This Jacksonville team had no business missing the playoffs nevertheless. They were so revitalized under the leadership of Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson following the disaster that was garbage human being Urban Meyer. Lawrence looked like a future superstar. All of a sudden, people aren’t so sure he’s that dude.
Sure, it didn’t help that the AFC South was way better than expected, with the Texans beating the Colts in a win-and-in situation on Saturday. But like…you gotta understand. The Jags started the year 6-2. They were rolling. I don’t know if we’ll ever know WTF happened.
I’ve never been too bullish on the Jags’ defensive personnel since Lawrence got there, to be fair to him. Nor did Jacksonville do him any favors with a piss-poor offensive line this season. It got to the point where Travis Etienne’s mother was publicly asking Santa for better run blocking for Christmas.
So yeah, it’ll be an offseason of serious soul-searching in DUUUUUUUUVAL County. Maybe TLaw can get hooked up with Aaron Rodgers and expand his mind on an ayahuasca retreat. That is, if Lawrence isn’t too busy with contract extension negotiations. Uh-oh! Count Roddy White among the nonbelievers, of which there are many more than I would’ve expected.
Allow me to be clear: I still believe 100% in Trevor Lawrence (OK maybe 95% — only a Sith deals in absolutes). Let’s get him healthy, advance the scheme a little bit, upgrade the offensive line, and add another viable pass-catcher who he can consistently count on before writing his NFL career obituary.
PS, throw the video below over to Freezing Cold Takes for inspection as the chilliest ever.
