Big Cat Country
The Jacksonville Jaguars handled critical business in Week 14, beating the Indianapolis Colts 36-19 on Sunday to take control of the AFC South. The Jaguars improved to 9-4 with the win while the Colts dropped to 8-5. Trevor Lawrence threw for two touchdowns while Travis Etienne added two rushing touchdowns in the victory.
The most significant piece of news to come out of this game was the Daniel Jones injury. The Colts QB tore his Achilles and is done for the year. Riley Leonard replaced him and will get a shot at finishing the season as the Colts starting quarterback.
Indy is still in the playoff picture, and only sits a game back of the Jaguars, but Jonathan Taylor might not be enough to overcome the loss of the previously surging Jones. Even with some of his recent struggles, it was injuries that really slowed down Jones. And now, with him out, the Jaguars are in the driver’s seat in the AFC South.
All of the Week 15 results have boosted the Jaguars playoff chances to 97%, per The Athletic’s playoff simulator. If they beat the Jets next week, for which they enter the week an 11.5-point favorite at FanDuel, their chances will improve to 99%.
The Jaguars hold a one-game lead over the Texans and Colts. They split the season series with the Texans and won the first game against the Colts. Jacksonville travels to face Indianapolis in Week 17, but with Daniel Jones done for the year, expectations are high for the Jaguars in that game. They are tied with the Texans in divisional record, so if they end up tied and it doesn’t involve another divisional loss, it would move to the common games tiebreaker.
The Jaguars remain in third place in the overall AFC standings. They are two games back of the Broncos and Patriots, and two games up on the Steelers. The Jaguars travel to face the Broncos in Week 16, which opens up a huge opportunity. Jacksonville would still need another Denver loss in Week 15, 17, or 18, but it’s not out of the realm of the possible. The Jaguars and Patriots did not face off this season, so it would come down to one of the various tiebreakers. They have the same conference record, and if the Patriots were to lose two of their remaining games to create a tie with the Jaguars, Jacksonville would likely finish with a better conference record.
