Jacksonville Jaguars killed playoff hopes in three games

The Jacksonville Jaguars had hope for the playoffs and managed to completely kill those hopes in just three games.

After beating the Tennessee Titans in Week 11 to get their second straight victory, the Jacksonville Jaguars were at 4-6 and the AFC South was well within reach. The Titans weren’t a threat at 2-8, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts both sat 5-5 and were not too far ahead to run away with the division.

Assuming the Texans and Colts couldn’t win out, including their games against the Jags, the Jaguars just needed to take care of business against teams that were struggling.

The San Diego Chargers, Titans again, and the Atlanta Falcons needed to be beaten.

Instead, the Jaguars managed to lose to all three of them (and beat the Colts again) to end up at 5-9 and all but certain to miss the playoffs.

What was a jovial, hope-filled time just a few weeks ago has now become a near-impossible situation for the Jacksonville Jaguars. That’s okay for some, especially with the 2016 NFL Draft already looming, but for many others it is a painful reminder that this team was never in playoff contention even with the division lead in reach.

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The 25-31, 39-42, and 17-23 losses are all painful reminders that even against bad and mediocre teams, the Jaguars have a long way to go. They were only in playoff contention because of the hapless situations the Colts and Texans found themselves in, not because of their incredible play on the field.

The exciting 39 points against the Titans and subsequent 51 points against the Colts the following week had most every fan excited and blinded the fact that the Jags should have taken care of business as a “better” team over those weaker contenders.

Now, with the third loss of those critical games against “weaker” opponents, the Jaguars are right where they probably should be based no talent, coaching, and experience: looking to the next draft instead of the postseason.

It’s a harsh pill to swallow, especially since the team has started to make strides this season. There was hope aplenty and it was well deserved. This team is coming together.

They just couldn’t get it done when it mattered most. Even one win in any of those games would have helped (especially the all-important division game against the Titans).

Next: Time to look to the draft

Alas, here we sit with a 5-9 record and very little hope for the playoffs left. Technically it’s still possible, but a miracle is now needed rather than the much-simpler beating of some down on their luck opponents like a few weeks ago.