Why the Jaguars Are Entering the Most Important Stretch of Their Season
The Jacksonville Jaguars have found themselves firmly back in the AFC playoff race as they enter their Week 12 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. After a hot start to the season, Jacksonville now sits at 6-4 and seventh in the AFC playoff picture, one spot behind the Los Angeles Chargers, whom they just dominated 35-6 last week. It briefly looked like the season was slipping away after disappointing losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams before the bye week. Since then, however, the Jaguars have stabilized, earning a win over the Las Vegas Raiders and nearly upsetting the Houston Texans. Now, Jacksonville enters its most important stretch of the season as the team prepares for a late-season playoff push. With renewed confidence and improved balance on both sides of the ball, the Jaguars appear poised to make a serious run at securing a postseason berth.
With wins over both the Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this year, the Jaguars hold crucial head-to-head tiebreakers over two of their closest competitors. The AFC South title is also well within reach, with Jacksonville trailing the Indianapolis Colts by only two games and still having both matchups left to play. If the Jaguars can win at least one of those meetings, they would put themselves in a strong position to claim the division, provided they take care of business elsewhere. Jacksonville also still has both games remaining against the Tennessee Titans, who sit at 1-9 and hold the worst record in the league. Dropping a game against Tennessee would be costly and is something the Jaguars cannot afford.
Outside of their four remaining divisional matchups, the Jaguars face only three non-division opponents. Two of them have losing records and heavily injured rosters, the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets. The only non-divisional challenge that stands out is the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos. A win in Denver would not only strengthen Jacksonville’s playoff résumé but could also provide another valuable tiebreaker should the Jaguars continue climbing the AFC standings. With the postseason race tightening, Jacksonville needs to fully lock in and maximize every opportunity down the stretch. If they do, playoff football could be returning to Duval County.
