The Jacksonville Jaguars have a polarizing reception to what NFL fans and pundits expect from them this season. Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars to playoffs last year, but there is a lot of doubt over the franchise repeating that. One positive sign sees Jacksonville forecasted to have a dominant performance in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars are currently an 8.5 point favorite to steamroll over the weaker Cleveland roster.
CBS Sports created an elaborate model that simulates games and it revealed that Jacksonville is the team most likely to win Week 1 and cover the spread:
“We can tell you one of the model’s strongest Week 1 NFL picks for the best betting apps is that the Jaguars (-8.5, 40.5) cover at home versus Cleveland in a Sunday 1 p.m. ET kickoff. The model has the Jags prevailing versus the spread well over 50% of the time, continuing the success they had last year with a league-best 12-5 ATS mark in the regular season.”
A strong result shows that the Jaguars have over a 50% chance to defeat the Browns by over 9 points to cover the spread. For Jacksonville fans, this is great news since it confirms the team should easily win this weekend. Lawrence and second year running back Bhayshul Tuten will be tasked with leading the offense.
Does This Provide Stronger Hope For Jaguars Season?
Most predictions have the Jaguars as a middle of the pack team. Yahoo had eight experts all pick the Houston Texans to win the AFC South as the solid favorites. Half of those same pundits predicted the Jaguars to make a Wild Card spot to show what the general public also thinks.
One would assume that being the most favored Week 1 team could be a positive sign for the future. However, this is a combination of Jacksonville being a good team, and Cleveland being one of the worst teams in the league with Deshaun Watson as quarterback.
Jaguars fans will need to wait until the team faces tougher competition to truly feel good about the overall season. The following five weeks will feature matchups against some of the top teams in the NFL, like the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots and relatively recent Super Bowl winner Philadelphia Eagles.
Jaguars Must Make NFL Statement In Week 1
The biggest takeaway to come from this model is that the Jaguars must have a decisive Week 1 victory if they want to be playoff contenders this year. Second year star Travis Hunter is expected to boost the defense to make them a well-rounded team.
Jacksonville has pressure to get through Week 1 easily before they quickly move to the toughest part of their schedule. Fans will lose all faith if the Jaguars struggle in Week 1 and show why they are behind teams like the Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Baltimore Ravens.
Losing star running back Travis Etienne Jr to the New Orleans Saints presents a challenge to thrive after losing arguably the best offensive player from last season. Lawrence will have high expectations to truly lead the offense in Week 1 and beyond.
Computer Model Reveals Jaguars Most Likely To Win Week 1