Jaguars won’t be a pushover to start new era in Washington

ASHBURN — Scott Turner was jokingly asked Thursday what he made of the upcoming “Brandon Scherff revenge game.” Sunday’s season opener, after all, will feature the return of the former Washington All-Pro guard to FedEx Field when he now suits up as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Washington Commanders offensive coordinator, though, came ready with a quip of his own.

“I thought it was the Andrew Norwell revenge game,” Turner said, referencing — you guessed it — the Jaguar-turned-Commander guard.

Washington’s first game of the year contains no shortage of storylines, even in a showdown between teams that were 7-10 and 3-14 (Jacksonville) a season ago. 

Outside the guard swap — which turned out to be more a coincidence as both players signed in free agency — Washington’s Carson Wentz faces his former coach Doug Pederson, hired this offseason to lead a Jaguars rebuild after successfully doing it in Philadelphia alongside the quarterback. All eyes will be on Wentz to see how he responds after a brutal Week 18 loss to Jacksonville as a member of the Colts last year, paving the way for a trade. 

But most notable of all: This will be the official beginning of the Commanders era, months after the club rebranded from the temporary Washington Football Team in February. 

And there’s pressure to start fast. NFL schedule-makers looked like it did Washington a favor in May when the league unveiled that the Jaguars and the Detroit Lions — teams that held the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year’s draft — were up first for the Commanders.

But entering Sunday’s contest, the Commanders are only 2 ½ point favorites over the Jaguars — a line that suggests oddsmakers don’t see this as a pushover for Washington.

There are reasons why. Beyond the general’s public concerns about Wentz, the Jaguars have a top young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, a handful of intriguing weapons like running backs James Robinson and Travis Etienne Jr. and a steady front four headlined by edger rusher Josh Allen. 

Jacksonville is no longer than a train wreck coached by Urban Meyer, one of the all-time hiring flops. Pederson, a Super Bowl-winning coach, is now in charge.

“Their outlook and their approach will be different they’ll be doing like we did a couple years ago and that’s trying to get away from who they’ve been,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said. “Doug will do his best to get those guys headed in the right direction.”

Rivera’s teams have historically started slowly as the coach has just a .451 winning percentage through the first two months of the season. But the squads have combined to have a .593 winning percentage in November and December. The coach is well aware of the marker, but noted “it’s going to be about how you finish.” 

Still, the obvious objective is to win right away. Rivera said he has spent his time watching old Eagles games to help prepare for what Jacksonville’s offense could look like. And Rivera also went to Wentz for insight since the quarterback played under Pederson for five seasons. “It’ll be fun to compete against them,” Wentz said. 

The Commanders are also on track to potentially see a number of injured players return for the opener. Tight ends Logan Thomas (ACL), Cole Turner (hamstring) and John Bates (calf) have been at least partially practiced this week — and all three could be ready for Sunday. That would be a big boost as the trio missed most of training camp.

Washington’s biggest injury question mark relates to versatile safety Kam Curl, who had thumb surgery recently and hasn’t practiced this week.

Curl, a 2020 seventh-round draft pick, started 14 of 16 games last season.

“Kam’s been a very good player for us from the time he arrived on the scene,” defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. “If he’s not available to go, we’ll be ready to carry on and do it without him. We like him. He’s a good football player.”

Elsewhere, running back Antonio Gibson appears posed for a steady role with Brian Robinson Jr. still recovering from his gunshot wounds. 

Gibson was a 1,000-yard rusher for Washington in 2021, but appeared to be in the coaching staff’s doghouse when he fumbled in the team’s preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. The 24-year-old, who has a history of fumbling issues, said he had a “bad” response to the turnover, but is ready to establish himself once again.

“I still feel like I’m one of the best running backs in the league,” Gibson said, “and I got something to prove.”

He won’t be the only one with that mentality.