Inside The Star
I think the top of the AFC looks good, but the team the AFC should fear in the playoffs is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Right now, Jacksonville isn’t playing like a team protecting a crown, they’re playing like a team headed toward one.
The AFC isn’t perfect and when you look around, no team is miles above the rest. I see a cluster of really good teams with really loud narratives.
Then there’s Jacksonville. Quiet, confident, balanced, and suddenly, scary.
The Jaguars have scored 410 points so far this season, tied for the highest total in the entire AFC. That’s not a lucky stretch; it is a consistent offense with the tools to succeed.
On defense, I see they have allowed 312 points, sitting comfortably among the other playoff-bound teams in the conference.
Combine those numbers with a +98 point differential and a 6.5 average margin of victory, and you’re looking at a team that doesn’t just win, they’re controlling games.
If I add in their SRS (Simple Rating System) score of 8.1, it is the second highest among AFC teams, only trailing the Houston Texans (9.0). This rating matters to me because it tells a deeper story than their record alone.
It tells me Jacksonville has been tested and hasn’t blinked.
This is the part I can’t stop thinking about:
Jacksonville can beat you multiple ways.
They can spread teams out and throw with purpose, can pound the ball with the run and soften defenses, they can generate pressure on defense without selling out in coverage, and make teams uncomfortable without getting too fancy.
Playoff football loves balance and Jacksonville, they are balanced and unpredictable.
That is a nasty combo for any defense trying to prep for them.
I don’t care what seed a team owns in December, I care about who they are right now.
Trevor Lawrence has been on a late-season tear, posting a 90.7 PFF grade since week 11, ranking third among all quarterbacks in that stretch.
He’s finishing drives, hitting every level, and playing with a level of command that we have not seen from him in his NFL career.
To top it off, he has enough athleticism to make defenses honor his legs, which adds another dimension to the offense.
Hot quarterbacks are dangerous in the playoffs, and a hot quarterback on a balanced team is terrifying.
The Broncos have the best record in the AFC at 13-3, the Patriots are steady at 12-3, the Bills can score with anyone, the Texans play bully ball, the Steelers grind, and the Chargers flash talent.
But Jacksonville? They’re the team that can steal your soul in one quarter then grind the rest of the game into dust.
This team doesn’t need to be crowned the best team in football right now to be a threat. They just...
