NFL power rankings: Jaguars ranked as a top-3 team entering Week 8

To get a feel for how the Jacksonville Jaguars are viewed around the league, here’s a look at national media power rankings going into Week 8 of the 2023 season.

Pro Football Talk: 3 (last week: 6)

From Mike Florio:

Right now, the best team in Florida plays in Duval County.

CBS Sports: 4 (last week: 7)

From Pete Prisco:

They’ve won four straight and still haven’t looked great in doing so. The offense still isn’t clicking all the way, but the signs are there that it’s coming.

Bleacher Report: 5 (last week: 7)

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t generally mentioned alongside the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins among the AFC’s elite teams. But after outlasting the Saints in New Orleans to move to 5-2 on the season, perhaps they should be.

USA Today: 5 (last week: 7)

From Nate Davis:

They won four games over a 19-day period. If they can notch their fourth win away from Jacksonville in the past five weeks, the Jags will be 6-2 for just the second time in their 29-season history.

ESPN: 6 (last week: 10)

NFL.com: 6 (last week: 6)

From Eric Edholm:

Sunday’s upcoming game in Pittsburgh is shaping up as a huge measuring-stick contest for both teams. The Jaguars’ win on Thursday — their fourth straight — gave them a pleasurable mini-bye, as a banged-up Trevor Lawrence got the job done, even if there are some kinks to work out. The offense has shown a pattern of bogging down in the second half. Travis Etienne is on pace for a whopping 367 touches. Calvin Ridley has more games with three or fewer catches than with four or more. The defense has been too reliant on takeaways. But all that said, the Jaguars have righted the ship and are in pole position in the AFC South. If they weather this next stretch of games before and after the Week 9 bye, the division can be theirs again.

Fox Sports: 6 (last week: 7)

From David Helman:

I feel like I might’ve been too harsh on the Jags in the wake of the win against the Saints. It was definitely ugly, don’t get me wrong. But Trevor Lawrence fought through a knee sprain and went on the road in a short week to get a Thursday night win. The offense needs to be better, but maybe they will be once Lawrence has a chance to rest that knee. In the meantime, they’re one of just two teams in the NFL riding a win streak longer than two games.

Pro Football Network: 7 (last week: 9)

From Dalton Miller:

The Jaguars aren’t easy to figure out. Trevor Lawrence is clearly talented, but he is so insanely quick-triggered that the offense lacks much of any explosiveness in the passing attack. He’s getting through reads too quickly at times and has even resorted to being a one-read-and-run player.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ defensive performance so far in 2023 might be the real story. While they are receiving some likely unsustainable turnover luck, they have also proven to be one of the most successful defensive units in the league.

The Athletic: 8 (last week: 8)

Yahoo Sports: 8 (last week: 10)

From Frank Schwab:

The only good thing from the Urban Meyer era might be that the Jaguars drafted Travis Etienne. Meyer wanted Kadarius Toney, of course, but Jacksonville got Etienne and he’s having a monster season. He has 700 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in seven games, and is the most consistent performer in that Jaguars’ offense.

Sharp Football Analysis: 10 (last week: 9)

From Raymond Summerlin:

They escaped with a win against the Saints, but it was a solid performance from the Jaguars given the injury questions around Trevor Lawrence. They are in control of the division at 5-2, but they have a tough game against the Steelers this week and then an even tougher game against the 49ers coming out of the bye.

Wow. The Jaguars were ranked as high as the third-best team in the National Football League this week, and no lower than 10th. Every other outlet pegged Jacksonville between spots 4-8.

Where would you rank the team heading into Week 8, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!