Could the Jacksonville Jaguars Win the AFC South?

In 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars were on a huge high. It was their first full season under head coach Doug Marrone, and that year saw the Jags finish 10-6 and capture the AFC South. What followed was quite a magical run, something that hadn't been seen since 1996, their second season in the league. The Jags defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card, and trounced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Playoff to reach the AFC Championship for the first time since that aforementioned sophomore season. They had a lead late against the New England Patriots, but it got away from them, and Jacksonville still has to wait for their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Even so, the Jags were on a huge high after that run. The following season started well--a 3-1 start that included a revenge win over the Patriots in Week Two. It did look like another great season was on the horizon. Then all of a sudden, the Jags lost seven straight games. I still can't figure out how it happened, but it ended up resulting in a 5-11 campaign. I figured that this was just a blip for the Jags, but it would get worse: a 6-10 outing in 2019, and then there was the last two seasons. 2020 saw them win their season opener...and that was it. 1-15 that season, and 2021 was the Urban Meyer experiment (the less we say about him, the better).

At least it resulted in Trevor Lawrence being their QB, so that's one silver lining for the Jags. That lining could become golden this season, as the Jags' offseason resulted in something resembling expectations, and it also helped that they had a few key wins early this season. Then the usual lull started, and it seemed like Jacksonville was in for more disappointment. But something funny happened: the AFC South started to collapse upon itself. To be fair, it's not as bad as their NFC counterparts, but it's faulty. Mainly, it's the Tennessee Titans falling off, but even so, they had Jacksonville on the former's turf. The Jags couldn't buy a win in Nashville, but on that day, Jacksonville ran away with the game, and caused a dent in Tennessee's AFC South lead.

Which brings us to Week 15. Coming off that big win, the Jags returned home to face the Dallas Cowboys. Oh boy. That is a huge hurdle. Dallas had 10 wins and was clearly playoff bound, while the Jags were scratching and clawing (and no, I'm not saying that because of the cat name). It did look like Jacksonville would be blown out of the water; they were down 27-10. However, this was coming one day after a 33-point deficit disappeared on the drop of a hat, so 17 definitely shouldn't be a problem.

The Jags definitely came back from that deficit, with Lawrence leading yet another clutch drive in the end that resulted in a game-tying field goal. The game went to OT tied at 34, and Jacksonville had the first possession, but they ended up punting. All Dallas had to do was get to field goal range, but Dak Prescott's pass to Noah Brown not only ended up dropped, it was intercepted. Rayshawn Jenkins ended up with the ball and never looked back; a walk-off Pick Six to win it for Jacksonville. The week would become even better for the Jags, as the Titans lost to the Los Angeles Chargers later in the day, and as a result, the Titans and Jaguars are separated by one game in the AFC South standings.

In addition, at 6-8, the Jaguars do have quite an outside chance at a Wild Card position, so things are coming up for the team. The Jags won a grand total of four games in the past two seasons combined, and they have six already this year. Even better, they actually have a big chance to win the AFC South. This is the 21st season of the NFL's current division realignment, meaning this is also the Jags' 21st season in the current AFC South. In the previous 20 years, the Jags' aforementioned 2017 run was the only time they won the AFC South. Now they could do it a second time.

Not only are the Jaguars one game behind the Titans, they are one up in the season series. The rematch will take place on Week 18, the final week of the season, and it will be at Duval County. But that's Week 18; both teams still have two more games to play before what could be a pivotal and vital head-to-head matchup. The Titans will be at home for their games against the Texans and Cowboys, the latter on Thursday Night Football. The Jags will be on the road for their games against the Jets (on Thursday Night Football) and Texans. So both teams have Houston on their remaining schedules, and it looks like Tennessee has the harder opponent in their other remaining game prior to the head-to-head.

According to the tiebreakers, if the Jags win their next two games, or if they win one and the Titans lose one, then the rematch in Jacksonville will decide the division, and could end the regular season on Sunday Night Football. If that happens, then this will be the Jaguars' biggest regular season game in years, and for Trevor Lawrence, it'll be the biggest game in his young professional career. It's amazing that the Jags actually have such a great chance at the playoffs this year. It had been such a struggle after their 2017 run, and the last two seasons were just horrendous on an off the field. If the Jags reach the playoffs as champions of the AFC South, it would cap off an absolutely wonderful redemption story for the franchise.