Jacksonville Jaguars Week 12 Power Rankings: Playoff Push
By Daniel Lago
As they head to Arizona to take on the fledgling Cardinals with a 4-game winning streak, the Jaguars have cemented themselves as a top-10 team.
Yes, just as everyone predicted, the Jacksonville Jaguars sit at 7-3 heading into week 12 with a real shot at securing a top-2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
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It’s hard to believe, but it’s true – the Jaguars are one of the best teams in the NFL.
While everyone has (and will continue to) dismissed to the Jaguars because their quarterback is Blake Bortles, the fact of the matter is that the team has a Super Bowl caliber defense and that should be enough to make some noise in January.
The Jaguars have arguably the easiest remaining schedule in the entire league, but they can’t let up. Any team can win on any given weekend in the NFL – just take a look at the New York Giants toppling the Kansas City Chiefs last week. Heck, the Cleveland Browns took the Jaguars down to the wire on Sunday.
Still, the Jaguars have cemented themselves as a top-10 team so far in 2017.
So where does that leave them in the power rankings? Lets find out:
"10. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3, LW: 12)It sounds a bit crazy but when you look at how easy the Jaguars’ remaining schedule is, a first-round bye isn’t out of the question. Perhaps we still have a few Blake Bortles blowups to come and that ruins Jacksonville’s shot at a No. 2 seed, but it’s been a while since that happened. I think some people still haven’t yet realized how well the Jaguars are set up right now."
"8. JaguarsThey don’t do a lot on offense, but that defense is special. They lead the NFL in scoring defense."
"7. Jacksonville JaguarsIt wasn’t perfect. It was another win for this group, though. You start looking ahead and you realize the Jaguars are playoff-bound. Putting aside the sterling 7-3 start, Jacksonville will see one of the league’s easier slates down the stretch: at Cardinals, vs. Colts, vs. Seahawks, vs. Texans, at 49ers, at Titans. That looks like an 11-5 finish to me. You? (@HarrisonNFL) By the way, if you’re not a Jags fan, you might not know that hit group hasn’t played meaningful January football in 10 years. That was back when Fred Taylor and @MJD were the best tandem in football. It was so long ago that the latter sits in a freezer (studio) with me every Tuesday talking about these very rankings. Speaking of which, come 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday on NFL Network, you can bet he’s gonna argue this team should be higher."
"7. Jacksonville Jaguars2017 record: 7-3Week 11 ranking: No. 9Triumph: The Jaguars already have their most wins in a season since 2010, when they went 8-8. The defense has been dominant, Leonard Fournette has impressed and Blake Bortles has done just enough. The team would have to go completely off the rails for this season to be anything less than a triumph for Sacksonville."
My take:
I can sense Frank Schwab over at Yahoo is still hesitant to buy in because of Blake, but it’s clear the team has gained respect nationally.
The Jaguars have a chance to win every game left on their schedule. If they do, I’d be shocked if they weren’t in the top 3 or 4 of most power rankings at the end of the season.
That’s getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s within the realm of possibility. The Jaguars have survived a few weeks of bad Blake, and probability states we’re due for a few good Blake games.
If the Jaguars can bring their A-game against the few decent opponents left, they could be sitting pretty at home on wild card weekend.
What a time to be a Jags fan.