Oct 26, 2013; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars mascot Jaxson de Ville at the NFL Fan Rally at Trafalgar Square in advance of the International Series game against the San Francisco 49ers. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Have you ever felt sympathetic to villains who were awful at their craft? For example, Dr. Claw and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz are two of the most memorable cartoon supervillains. Their resumes against Penny Gadget and Perry the Platypus are comparable to a decade-long stretch of the 2008 Detroit Lions. Once—just once—I’d like to see those villains score a victory against their foes. Give them some credibility. It’s more fun to watch the bad guy go 1-999,999, not 0-1,000,000.
Enter Jaxson de Ville. de Ville serves as the mastermind of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the most inept franchise in the NFL and maybe all of American sports. Once a Titans-wannabe organization during the 2000s, the Jaguars have fallen into hard times following years of awful drafting and costly free-agent mistakes. de Ville’s gang has become so unwatchable that he’s often seen trying to jump down from the stadium lights or scoreboard to his intended doom. A zip wire or rope always rescues him. This forces him into a much worse fate: watching a Jaguars game.
Remember this from December 2009? That’s how depressed he got during seasons when the Jaguars’ eighth loss didn’t come until Week 16. How about an eighth loss after Week 8? Keep an eye on this freaky cat. Just keep that eye above the waist…
Eight weeks are complete. The Jaguars (0-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) are the only teams with winless records. The Buccaneers have a point differential of -63. They’re averaging a nine-point loss per game. Compare that to the Jaguars, who have a point differential of -178. They’re averaging a 22.25-point loss per game. Nobody else has a point differential that exceeds -82. The Jaguars have yet to keep an opponent within single digits.
Is 0-16 a possibility, likelihood or just sensationalist talk? Let’s compare them to the 2008 Lions. Through eight games, the Lions were outscored 239-137. That’s a 102-point differential. From Week 6-9, the Lions had four consecutive single-digit defeats. Three of those games were on the road. The Jaguars have been outscored 264-86.
At least that Lions team was somewhat competitive in many of their losses. Even during a 19-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 2, the Jaguars’ only touchdown came during garbage time in the fourth quarter. One could argue that the Jaguars didn’t score their first meaningful touchdown until Week 5.
Yes—Week 5. More than an entire month of games before the Jaguars scored a touchdown that didn’t come in garbage time or when they had a huge deficit.
Week 9 is the Jaguars’ bye week. They have eight more chances to avoid the title of the NFL’s second 0-16 club. Here’s their remaining schedule:
Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule (Week 10-17)
at Titans 3-4
vs Cardinals 4-4
at Texans 2-5
at Browns 3-5
vs Texans 2-5
vs Bills 3-5
vs Titans 3-4
at Colts 5-2
Seven of their eight remaining games feature opponents who are .500 or worse. Five of them come against AFC South divisional rivals. Two of them come against the Tennessee Titans. That’s encouraging for a team who has upset the Titans in two consecutive games at EverBank Field. Can they do it for a third consecutive season?
There’s no denying the rivalry between these two teams. Remember the reaction it evoked from the Jaguars fan who felt it was clever to dress a skeleton in bloody-and-torn Steve McNair jersey? Unfortunately, that was the game when the Titans couldn’t defeat a Luke McCown-led offense. That loss would eventually keep them out of the AFC playoff picture.
Titans fans either hate the Jaguars or they’re completely indifferent to them because they’re so awful. But how much do we really hate them? Is it worth seeing them finish 0-16? That means two Texans wins and a Week 17 Colts win. Imagine the Colts jeopardizing their playoff positioning with an oopsie against an 0-15 team. Awesome.
Answer the poll below. Maybe you want to see them win more games because it’ll hurt their draft position. Maybe you don’t want to have to deal with Jaxson de Ville changing his name to something like “Lon de Don,” “Mexi de Con,” “Tor de Onto,” or “Los de Angel.”
SOURCES: Outkick the Coverage