What to expect, how to watch
When: Sunday, 1 p.m
Where: FedEx Field, Landover, MD.
TV: FOX
Radio: 1010-AM, 92.5-FM; Spanish, 930 AM/97.3 FM via Accion; Sirius XM channel 227.
Live Stream: NFL+ Premium (click here for a 7-day trial).
More Jaguar coverage
Opportunities: jaguars +3.5; over-under, 43.5.
Last year: Jaguars 3-14, Commanders 7-10.
Series history: Commanders lead 6-1.
Last meeting: The Commanders won 16:13 in Jacksonville on December 16, 2018.
About the jaguars
• The Jaguars open the 2022 season with their fourth manager in 10 years. Doug Pederson is last on the job to fix this struggling ship of a franchise that has only had one .500 or better season in 11 years. However, Pederson is only the second coach the Jaguars have ever hired with experience as an NFL head coach, and the only one with a Super Bowl ring.
• Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke’s emphasis on off-hand offense and draft defense will be tested. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence will have more guns available and running backs James Robinson and Travis Etienne will return in 2021 from injuries. The defense needs more pass rush and to force more turnover, with rookie outside linebacker Travon Walker likely to serve as a bookend to veteran Josh Allen; and free-agent linebacker Foye Oluokun combined with another first-round rookie, Devin Lloyd, on the inside.
• The offensive line, with new starters Brandon Scherff and Ben Barch at guard and rookie Luke Fortner in the middle, is tested early against the Commanders’ defensive front, its strength—even without the injured Chase Young.
About the commanders
• The last time quarterback Carson Wentz took a snap in an NFL game, he was playing for Indianapolis and the Jaguars’ defense beat the Colts 26-11 in the last game of the 2021 regular season. It cost the Colts a trip to the playoffs and caused them to retire Wentz. Maybe a change of scenery will help. However, no one knows Wentz better than the coach who nurtured him in Philadelphia — Doug Pederson.
• Washington could struggle in the ongoing game as Brian Robinson is out with a gunshot wound in his leg. Robinson beat returning starter Antonio Gibson, who by most reports was not having his best training camp.
• Wide receiver Terry McLaurin could become the second player in franchise history (after Gary Clark) to have 4,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions in his first four seasons. Last year, when he caught 77 passes for 1,053 yards, he was Pro Football Focus’s third-highest scoring wide receiver, behind Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson.
• The Commanders have beaten the Jaguars four times in a row, but three of those came as close as possible: two wins in overtime and a field goal on the last shot.
key match
Jaguars OG Brandon Scherff vs Commanders NT Daron Payne – Scherff returns to the place where he played for seven years to take on his old teammates. When Washington is on a 4-3 base, Scherff is likely to most often pick at Payne, a first-round draft pick in 2018 who has missed just one game in four years and had 4.5 sacks last season .
Contact Garry Smits at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter