What’s Next? The Jacksonville Jaguars getting to .500

The Jacksonville Jaguars sit at 5-8, hoping to close out the season with three straight wins to get to .500, can it be done?

The last time the Jacksonville Jaguars went 8-8 was in 2010. Since then it has been losing season after losing season.

The 5-11 season of 2011, the year former head coach Jack Del Rio was fired, stood as the high water mark for the following seasons. Just getting back to five wins has been a struggle for the Jaguars under Mike Mularkey and current head coach Gus Bradley.

That task has now been accomplished. At 5-8, the Jaguars are better than they have been in the recent past. The work isn’t done yet, though. The next goal should be getting to 8-8, ending a string of four straight losing seasons.

With a win in Week 14, the Jags will have to string together at least three more straight victories – making four in a row – to finish at .500. It is a monumental task for a team that finished with just three wins in 2014 and only four in 2013.

Yet it is a task that can certainly be done.

The final games of the season are against the slumping Atlanta Falcons (Week 15) who are losers of six straight, the New Orleans Saints (Week 16) who won their first game in five tries last week, and the Houston Texans (Week 17) who hold the AFC South lead currently. All of these games are winnable, even for a team like the Jags with just five total wins.

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.500 is within reach and the Jacksonville Jaguars may just have it in them.

Will this be the season it is done? Or will Jags fans have to wait until next year to see another opportunity at getting to .500 (or better)?

The Jags should keep their eyes and focus on each individual game this season and not get lost in lofty goals like finishing the season with four straight and a chance at 8-8. It’s their duty to treat each of the mediocre opponents in front of them as if they are they are the only task worthy of consideration.

As fans of the team, however, we are not forced to think along the same lines. The smell of 8-8 is in the air and we all want to see the Jags get as close as possible to that mark. It’s a goal worth striving for as we fans seek at least a reasonable season to look back after years of less than mediocre showings.

Next: Rashad Greene is an excellent catalyst for the Jaguars

Hopefully we will be able to see a return to an 8-8 season this year. If not, getting closer will still be the highest mark for this team in half a decade.