This season has seen a close race in the AFC South, mainly between the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts.
For the Jaguars, they had an eventual season, they also lost their second overall draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Travis Hunter, to a season ending knee injury after only seven games, but beating the Kansas City Chiefs on an improbable scramble by Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter, and are currently on a four-game winning streak, with the last two wins coming over division rivals while leading the South.
On Sunday, the team will look to continue its momentum when it hosts the New York Jets, who are 3-10 and in the running for the first draft pick in the 2026 draft, which will feature the likes of Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.
With a win, it will be the first time the team has reached 10 wins in a season since 2017, when they made a run to the AFC conference championship game before losing to the New England Patriots, 24-20, with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Obviously, those teams are complete opposites, which emphasizes just how long it has been for the Jaguars to have a solid season with playoff aspirations. Trevor Lawrence is hoping to lead the team to their second playoff appearance as the starting quarterback.
Based on how things currently stand, the last three games for the Jaguars after Sunday are winnable, with one more game against the Tennessee Titans, who have struggled in Cam Ward's first year, and the Colts, who have recently turned to a 44-year-old Philip Rivers to take over as their starting quarterback.
The only game they may not be favored in is the Week 16 showdown versus Bo Nix and the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.