3 Numbers That Define the Jaguars' 2025 Season so Far

It didn't feel appropriate to write a typical recap column after Sunday's game.

A Davis Mills-led offense completed a historic fourth quarter comeback, taking all the wind of out Liam Coen's inaugural season.

Jacksonville lost in a way it had never done before. The final result was even a scorigami.

How it happened, though, was all too familiar. The Jaguars actually played their best half under Coen though 30 minutes, but the final half hour was a comedy show filled with self-depreciating jokes more horrifying than humbling.

The team's usual assortment of self-inflicted mistakes – chiefly, backbreaking penalties – snowballed into a great collapse. Jacksonville was outmatched in the trenches and out-coached on the sidelines. Trevor Lawrence had cringy turnovers. The defense couldn't get a late stop. Time is a flat circle.

Rather than revisiting that dark (game) day, let's take a step back and review some notable trends from the start of the Coen/Gladstone/Boselli era.

Here are 3 Numbers to Know following the first half of Jacksonville's 2025 season.

Statistics via Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted

-0.14

That's the offense's dip in EPA/play when Brenton Strange is off the field. Its success rate drops three points. That's remarkable!

For context, without Lamar Jackson, Baltimore sees declines in EPA/play by -0.17 and success rate by 2%.

It's rare for any player to have such an effect on an offense, but considering Strange's role in Jacksonville, the numbers check out.

Strange was the linchpin of Coen's scheme in the first month of the season. He was the key to unlocking a diverse, motion-heavy run game, and he was utilized in new ways a pass-catcher compared to previous seasons.

The third-year tight end went viral for bodying a defender in the season opener, a play that Trevor Lawrence immediately described as "the hardest slice I've ever seen in my life." He had pivotal blocks on Travis Etienne's biggest runs of the year, a 71-yard TD against Carolina and a 48-yard TD in Santa Clara. And he was promoted from an auxiliary option to a primary target in the passing game, as Coen drew up designed looks and detailed routes to get the ball into his hands.

Strange paced the team with 19 catches and 182 yards in Weeks 1-4. His 78.7 PFF grade in that span ranked first among Jaguars offensive players and second among NFL tight ends.

The offense has scored 4.9 fewer points per game since he strained his quad in Week 5. Strength of schedule has been a factor, though not as critical of one as Strange.

Jacksonville may be getting its X-factor back this week. The team recently placed Strange on the Designated for Return List and opened his 21-day practice period.

"I know he is very eager to get out there and compete and play and make an impact on our offense like he was doing before he got banged up," Coen said Monday. "We're obviously hopeful [that he'll play Sunday] but have to take it day-to-day.”

I don't think anyone was expecting Strange to be what he is to the offense. His importance as apparent in the games he's missed as the games he's played. The story of the Jaguars' season so far can't be told without him.

He doesn't possess the requisite speed or contact balance to be a real No. 1 receiving option, thus a truly elite NFL TE. I don't think we're watching the next George Kittle here. That said, it does seem that Strange is entering the prime of a long career. He could be in a similar class as someone like Dallas Goedert, who provides under-appreciated three-down value in a championship offense.

I'm looking forward to his return, but not nearly as much as Coen must be.

33

That's how many blown blocks Walker Little has this season. It's the most of any NFL player.