Jaguars vs. Chargers Wild Card Preview

Jacksonville Will Face A Familiar Foe To Kick Off The Playoffs

Nearly four months ago these teams faced each other out on the west coast. The big headlines were Justin Herbert's rib injury and Keenan Allen missing another early season game. The headlines even persisted after the game as news outlets did everything they could to explain away why the Jaguars were able to win soundly against one of the NFL's anointed Super Bowl contenders.

Now, these teams will face in Jacksonville for a crucial playoff game where the Chargers are once again expected to take care of business. With how the media still views the Jaguars after they've earned the right to play in January, this team and fanbase should be fired up. I know for myself it was enough to get me to drive down from Missouri to watch this team play more football.

Many things have changed since Week 3. The Jaguars early lead rusher can now be found up in New York while Travis Etienne has completely taken over the show. Jacksonville has adapted to a new team mentality and has all the feelings of a winning organization. For Los Angeles, they're feeling many of the same things as they have finally berthed into the playoffs under the leadership of Justin Herbert. With the go big or go home mentality of the postseason and injuries plaguing a lot of underdogs, this game should be the best one of the week.

Justin Herbert And Keenan Allen Will Need To Carry Chargers Passing Offense

While Jacksonville just went through one of the best moments in franchise history, the Chargers didn't find themselves as fortunate in Week 18. It wasn't bad luck either, it was the poor decision making of Brandon Staley. In what was likely an attempt to match other teams mentalities of taking every game seriously, Staley decided to play all of his starters in a meaningless game against Denver. Well, not only did they lose the game, but they've also officially lost Mike Williams who has suffered a fractured back.

When Jacksonville and Los Angeles matched up last time, the passing offense ran through Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer. Now it'll be Keenan Allen who takes the place of the top receiver in this offense. Since Williams is out, Jacksonville could look to double team Allen and force Herbert to run his passing offense through depth receivers. It's simply not a good situation for the Chargers once again and this time they can't blame anyone else for it.

Travis Etienne Has The Opportunity For A Statement Game

The Chargers rank as one of the worst run defenses across the NFL. If you remember at all, they were the same team that gave up a 4th and 1 touchdown at midfield to the Jaguars in Week 3. While there's other strengths and weaknesses across their defense, Jacksonville will need to attack Los Angeles with the run game for a multitude of reasons.

The Jaguars would benefit from a great running game because it would give them the opportunity to string out long, efficient drives. Keeping Herbert off the field will be key since it could make him antsy and cause turnovers if paired with inexperience in big environments like this. Although it wasn't a playoff game, the Jaguars got a nice dose of big game experience last Saturday against Tennessee. Like Pederson says, you pass to score and run to win.

Final Prediction

I believe that the Jacksonville Jaguars will defeat the Los Angeles Chargers this Saturday. There's just so many more things going their way. Our coaching is way better. Lawrence and Etienne are set to bounce back. Mike Williams is out. Players are losing confidence in Brandon Staley. We're playing at home. The Jaguars will pack the bank again after setting a stadium record.

This isn't to say that the Chargers are a walk-over or that they can't win. They have the big playmakers to pull it off. However, there's way too many things going right in Duval while the Chargers media is talking about a new head coach. I believe the Jaguars will look like the best team on Saturday and hold off a late comeback to hold on 31-21. After that, we'd probably be heading into Kansas City as 'undercats.'

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