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The Jacksonville Jaguars are primed for the most exciting season in franchise history. Man, does it feel good to say that!
Yesterday, the Jaguars and the rest of the NFL officially revealed its schedule for this year’s preseason and regular season action of football.
Jacksonville is one of several teams that will appear on prime-time television just once during the season, a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 of the regular season for Thursday Night Football.
The excitement surrounding the Jaguars is at an all-time high thanks to the arrival of both head coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
While there’s reason to get excited, exactly how will the team fare with this year’s schedule? The Jaguars will play seven contests against teams who were in the playoffs last season, including the Tennessee Titans (twice), Indianapolis Colts (twice), Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams.
The Jaguars will compete in its London series once again for the first time since the 2019 season. Last year’s London game was canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. If all goes to plan, Jacksonville will face off against the Miami Dolphins in a Week 6 contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The team had typically played at Wembley stadium over the years.
With that, let’s take a stab at predicting the team’s record. As a reminder, the league has since changed its number of regular-season contests from 16 to 17 games.
To make it easier, we will break the regular season up into four parts, the last stretch of games will include five.
Week 1: Jaguars @ Texans (Sept. 12), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 2: Jaguars vs. Broncos (Sept. 19), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 3: Jaguars vs. Cardinals (Sept. 26), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 4: Jaguars @ Bengals (Sept. 30), Thursday Night Football, NFL
In the first quarter of the season, the Jaguars will start off against the Houston Texans, a team that has been reeling since the start of last season. It’s an ideal start to the year, and it would almost be a surprise to see Jacksonville lose the contest. The next three games are tougher, however, there is a chance the team finishes 2-2 during the first quarter of the season, losing to the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.
Current record: 2-2
Week 5: Jaguars vs. Titans (Oct. 10), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 6: Jaguars vs. Dolphins (Oct. 17), London, 9:30 a.m. ET, CBS
Week 8: Jaguars @ Seahawks (Oct. 31), 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 9: Jaguars vs. Bills (Nov. 7), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The next stretch of games is perhaps the most difficult stretch of games the team will face during the season. The combined record of the Titans, Dolphins, Seahawks and Bills last season was 46-18. Three (Titans, Bills, Seahawks) out of four of the teams made the playoffs.
It’s possible, however, the Jaguars take down Miami, an international contest that always seems to have something weird happening during it.
Current record: 3-5
Week 10: Jaguars @ Colts (Nov. 14), CBS
Week 11: Jaguars vs. 49ers (Nov. 21), 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Week 12: Jaguars vs. Falcons (Nov. 28), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 13: Jaguars @ Rams (Dec. 5), 4:35 p.m. ET, CBS
The Jaguars have always played up to the competition when it comes to the Colts. While Jacksonville lost in a big way to Indianapolis at the end of the year last season, the Jaguars won the first contest in Week 1, their only win of the season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jacksonville win again, even on the road. While the 49ers are traveling across the nation and likely fielding a rookie quarterback, the rest of the team is likely far too much for Jacksonville to handle.
Current record: 4-8
Week 14: Jaguars @ Titans (Dec. 12), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 15: Jaguars vs. Texans (Dec. 19), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 16: Jaguars @ Jets (Dec. 26), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 17: Jaguars @ Patriots (Jan. 2), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 18: Jaguars vs. Colts, (Jan. 9) 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The final stretch of games for Jacksonville features a couple of intriguing matchups that could result in victories. They’ll face off against both the Texans and Jets during the stretch, and both of those games could result in wins. The rest of the matchups are questionable, with the Colts and Patriots becoming the two most-likely places they could earn victories.
Ultimately, the Jaguars win just two more games, against the Texans and Jets.
Final record: 6-11
Though the final record of 6-11 doesn’t inspire much confidence, the Jaguars would have multiplied its win total from last season by six, something that should be seen as a step in the right direction. There are simply far too many unknowns surrounding the team, especially its defense.
With a rookie quarterback in Lawrence, the team will see very quickly whether or not he was worthy of the selection, but he cannot overcome all of the issues within the team itself.
Until the team proves otherwise, this is one of the more objective ways to look at it.