Via 247sports.com
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a rising team in the AFC with Trevor Lawrence. In 2022, the Jaguars finished as AFC South champions, had the most improbable comeback in the playoffs, and ended on a good note even though they lost in the AFC Divisional game against the Kansas City Chiefs. With two London games, and a total of five primetime games, will the Jaguars show the world they can compete with the big three?
The Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 schedule is broken down to the following:
Week 1 at Indianapolis Colts – September 10 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 2 vs. Kansas City Chiefs – September 17 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 3 vs. Houston Texans – September 24 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 4 vs. Atlanta Falcons (London) – October 1 | 9:30 AM ET
Week 5 at Buffalo Bills (London) – October 8 | 9:30 AM ET
Week 6 vs. Indianapolis Colts – October 15 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 7 at New Orleans Saints – October 19 (TNF) | 8:15 PM ET
Week 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers – October 29 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 9 – Bye Week
Week 10 vs. San Francisco 49ers – November 12 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 11 vs. Tennessee Titans – November 19 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 12 at Houston Texans – November 26 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 13 vs. Cincinnati Bengals – December 4 (MNF) | 8:15 PM ET
Week 14 at Cleveland Browns – December 10 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 15 vs. Baltimore Ravens – December 17 (SNF) | 8:20 PM ET
Week 16 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – December 24 | 4:05 PM ET
Week 17 vs. Carolina Panthers – December 31 | 1:00 PM ET
Week 18 at Tennessee Titans – TBD
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be playing the AFC North and NFC South as part of their yearly division rotation. Kicking off at Indianapolis should be interesting, especially if Anthony Richardson is starting for the Colts. I really like what the Jaguars have with Trevor Lawrence and what they are building on both offense and defense. The Jaguars will win the week one matchup due to the fact they have a lot more experience under Doug Pederson now, and they are overall the better well-rounded team in terms of team chemistry. The Jaguars will be looking for revenge against the Chiefs, but this time it’ll be in Jacksonville. The Jaguars played a bit sloppy in the AFC Divisional game and still only lost by one touchdown, with this game being in Jacksonville, I am willing to bet this will be another close one – score game. I unfortunately think Patrick Mahomes will get it done, but do not count out the Jaguars defense to come up with an important stop if needed.
The Houston Texans are still a very young team and going through the rebuild process, C.J. Stroud has a lot to bring to the table, but Trevor Lawrence and the offense are a huge challenge for this new defense of the Texans. I see the Jaguars winning the matchup against the Texans. This leaves the most interesting back-to-back weeks for the Jaguars.
Two London games, which means the Jaguars will be staying in London for two weeks but playing at different stadiums. So far, a team has never played back-to-back in London, which will be an interesting taste for the Jaguars. The matchups will be the Falcons and Bills. I see the Jaguars taking down a young, inexperienced Falcons team, in which Desmond Ridder is the starter. However, the Falcons have a young and talented running back room now with Bijan Robinson, which could be a possible challenge for the Jaguar. The Bills matchup is quite unique, as the Jaguars will have been used to the timezone by the time the Bills come to London, and jet lag will probably be a factor for Buffalo. I do think this will be another close matchup, but all things considered, the Bills have the better offense and defense. I could see this being an upset game for the Bills though, as the Jaguars will have been used to London and get an understanding of the fields, timezone, and overall be more prepared to play in a different stadium.
Before the bye week, the Jaguars will have to face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football in New Orleans, and then the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. Two away games can be rough, especially in hostile areas, but I do think the Jaguars can rally past both teams just based on overall. Trevor Lawrence is the better quarterback against both teams, the Jaguars run game is much stronger, and even though the Steelers defense is better, I wholeheartedly believe it’ll come down to which quarterback has the ball last, and I trust Trevor Lawrence more than I do Kenny Pickett. The Saints really do have that question to them on if they can compete or not. I do think Derek Carr can give them a boost if Michael Thomas is back healthy, but looking at what Carr will be doing on a new team is too far to judge right now. This will be a nice confidence boost if the Jaguars win both games before the bye week.
After the bye week, the 49ers are the Jaguars next opponent. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but the 49ers are just dominant, no matter who their quarterback is. Kyle Shanahan has been the ultimate mastermind, and the 49ers defense is extremely powerful. Over an up and rising Jaguars team, I see the 49ers taking this one because their defense is just better period. This leaves two divisional opponents before the Jaguars have to take on basically the entire AFC North. The Jaguars are the more superior team in the AFC South, they don’t have a new quarterback, and they have a head coach who has shown what he is capable of. The Colts and Texans are just too young to say they will out right beat a team that went head-to-head with Patrick Mahomes. This leaves the AFC North.
The Jaguars have to outright play the Bengals, Browns, then Ravens three weeks in a row. The Bengals game will be on Monday Night Football, and again, not to sugarcoat it, but this is an entirely different Bengals team from two years ago on Thursday Night Football. The Bengals are just a force to be reckoned with, and they have the better offense, defense, and special teams. The same can go for the Baltimore Ravens, but we don’t know how well the new receivers will look on the field. The Jaguars should be able to take down the Browns, even with Cleveland acquiring Za’Darius Smith. I love how the Jaguars can be matched up with three tough opponents, but they will take one of the three games at least. Last season, Trevor Lawrence had a crazy comeback against the Ravens, and that was probably the moment most people believed in Trevor Lawrence. If Lawrence can pull off two crazy comebacks in the same season, I bet he can do it again this upcoming season.
The last final three games will really define if the Jaguars can win the AFC South. Against a Tom Brady-less Buccaneers team, new Carolina Panthers team, and a matchup against the Titans on the road. The Buccaneers game should not concern anybody, same state, both teams are used to the heat, and the Buccaneers have absolutely gone downhill since Brady left. I trust Trevor Lawrence more than Baker Mayfield, and it’s by a wide margin. With that being said, the Panthers could be a late trap game for the Jaguars, but I think the Jaguars are powerful and experienced enough to overcome this “trap game.” The Panthers have a new rookie quarterback who will probably be starting by the time this matchup happens, but because Bryce Young won’t be fully experienced, and the Jaguars might be fighting for the post-season again, I see the Jaguars taking this game with ease.
This leaves the last matchup at Tennessee. The Titans are a unique case right now, and who knows whether Will Levis is starting or not. Ryan Tannehill is still about an average quarterback who can win the Titans games but also lose them games. I would rather have Lawrence than Tannehill, and I think this will come down to the quarterbacks or the running game. The Titans will need to be back on track and fighting for playoff hopes as well for me to think the Titans will attempt to keep this game close. Derrick Henry should be a force again, but the Jaguars have Travis Etienne to try and keep up with Henry. The game should be close, but if the Jaguars haven’t already clinched the division, they will be fighting with everything they have again.
The Jaguars are becoming a good team and can certainly make the playoffs. I can see them going 10-7 and possibly have a better record. Their schedule overall really isn’t that hard as they are playing the NFC South, the AFC North could give them numerous problems, but there is balance. This team should not be doubted and should not be slept on.
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