6 thoughts to end the week: Why Lions and Jags hit diverging paths and what if Jacksonville drafted Hutchinson?
6 thoughts to end the week: Why Lions and Jags hit diverging paths and what if Jacksonville drafted Hutchinson?
Allen Park — Here are six thoughts to end the week as the Detroit Lions prepare to play the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fork in the road
The last time the Lions played the Jaguars, there was a reasonable perception the franchises were on parallel tracks. Obviously, neither team had turned a corner at that time, but there were signs.
The Jaguars came into the matchup at 4-7, but had won two of three, rallying past the Baltimore Ravens the previous week. The Lions were also showing signs of life after a 1-6 start to their campaign, winning three in a row before dropping a hard-fought contest to a very good Buffalo team on Thanksgiving.
Both teams had intriguing pieces and what looked to be the right coaches, given the Jaguars had turned the keys to Doug Pederson earlier that year. And the narrative of parallel paths was only strengthened by the way the two teams finished their seasons, with both ending above .500.
Jacksonville’s 9-8 record was good enough for the postseason berth. The Lions, with the same mark, famously just missed out despite beating the Packers, at Lambeau, in the final game of the regular season.
It wasn’t until the middle of last season the franchises started going in different directions. Despite starting 8-3, Jacksonville dropped five in a row and missed the playoffs. Detroit, also 8-3 through 11 games, would win three of their final five in the regular season, claiming their division and marching to the NFC Championship before bowing out.
The Lions have maintained their trajectory in 2024 and are among the Super Bowl favorites. The Jaguars, meanwhile, also maintained their trajectory, at least in the way they finished the previous season. They’ve been awful this year and are currently projected to pick No. 1 overall.
So what happened?