T
he Jaguars are 4-2 coming out of their bye week and ready to go on a run the rest of the season. Losing to the Houston Texans in their most recent game, the team is hungry to bounce back and prove to the rest of the league that they have what it takes to become a Super Bowl contender in a tough AFC. Jacksonville has a tough slate of games coming up, but the high level play of players such as quarterback Trevor Lawrence and two-way star Travis Hunter could propel them to where they want to go.
But even though they didn’t play in Week 8, the team fell a few spots in the latest NFL Power Rankings, due in large part to the success of the Cincinnati Bengals in their most recent game. Now sitting at No. 6, NFL.com’s Nick Shook explained why Jacksonville is no longer a top-five team.
Jaguars Fall a Few Spots
The Jaguars were at No. 5, but the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 coming off of their bye. Shook explained the Bengals’ big win combined with the Jaguars’ late game collapse against the Houston Texans in London in Week 6 as the main reasons for the change.
“Movement around the Jaguars leads to a one-spot drop after a bye week spent licking their wounds following the last-second loss to Houston in London,” Shook wrote. “A favorable ramp back into the rhythm of the regular season awaits with a home date against the struggling Colts, but a test follows when the Jags head to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 9.”
The Jaguars are still in a good spot, and will look to seize every opportunity they get. Facing the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8, a team in the midst of a fire sale as the trade deadline approaches, the Jaguars also face the Tennessee Titans twice– another team deep in a rebuild. If Jacksonville can take care of business, the last few weeks of the season will be interesting.
Jaguars’ Season So Far
The Jaguars opened up their season with a 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns before quickly falling to 1-1 after a Week 2 loss to the Denver Broncos. Jacksonville got into a rhythm after that though, rattling off three straight wins over the New England Patriots, Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, proving that they are not a team to overlook this season. And while they lost to the Texans, they used the bye week to rest, recover and regroup and will surely come out firing this week.
Lawrence has 1,480 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes and only four interceptions so far this season and has been mentioned in the MVP conversation. He has dealt with injuries and consistency at times during his NFL career, but is looking to silence the doubters and get the job done this season. Lawrence signed a five-year contract extension in June 2024 that runs through the 2030 season, giving him plenty of time to continue proving himself as the team’s franchise quarterback.
Jaguars Drop a Few Spots in Latest NFL Power Rankings