The Jacksonville Jaguars have already had a rollercoaster of a season, opening with a win on the road in Indianapolis against the Colts, yet losing their next two home contests, including a 37-17 blowout loss to the Houston Texans.
After that short-term debacle, the Jaguars flew across the pond to London and faced off against two teams, the Falcons and the Bills.
Winning both matches, they returned home to face the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday, a game that determined the AFC South’s first-place position. This pressure didn’t faze the Jaguars, as they pummeled the Colts 37-20 to take over first place in their division and continue their win streak.
The Jaguars then had to head on the road to face the New Orleans Saints this past Thursday. A four day gap between games didn’t affect them as Jacksonville came out with a 31-24 win on the road, extending their winning streak to four.
Since picking up additional offensive weapons this past off-season — the likes of wide receiver Calvin Ridley and offensive lineman Anton Harrison — winning the AFC South is just another piece of the puzzle Jacksonville is looking to solve this year.
The NFL season isn’t even halfway over. Before Jacksonville can look at accomplishing other feats this season, they first need to know how they can keep their first-place lead to guarantee a chance in the playoffs; here are three ways:
- Defeat the remaining teams in the division – They’ve already defeated the Colts twice. But the Jaguars still have to get past the woes of only ever winning three games against the Texans and a fierce rival in the Tennessee Titans.
- Win most of their home games – Jacksonville struggled at home to begin the season and lost their first two games at EverBank Stadium. However, they still have plenty of chances to improve their home record against teams like the 49ers, Bengals, Ravens and Panthers.
- Score at least 20 points each game – The Jaguars have a 5-0 record this season when they score over 20 points in a game. On the flip side, they’ve lost both games where they couldn’t reach that 20-point mark. If Jacksonville scores over that mark in most of their remaining 11 games, the Jags’ defense will have the opportunity to lead them to victory.
Since the AFC South is one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, all the Jaguars have to do to make it to the playoffs is win meaningful games without risking the health of important players such as Trevor Lawrence, who is currently dealing with a knee issue.
The Jaguars are sitting in a good spot right now, but there are still plenty of games left for Jacksonville to improve and reach their goal of playing in a Super Bowl.
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