Where should the bar be set for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018?
By Billy Long
Are we expecting too much from the Jacksonville Jaguars for next season?
The Jacksonville Jaguars were a feel good story of last season. After years of futility, including just 22 wins total from 2011 to 2016, the Jaguars rose to prosperity in the blink of an eye, and ultimately let a trip to the Super Bowl slip from their grasp.
But despite the unexpected success, the team is stacked on talent, specifically on a league’s best defensive unit, and no one is viewing 2017 as just a flash in the pan. Jacksonville enters next season with lofty expectations.
With the taste of winning, and not sneaking up on the league anymore, where exactly should the bar be set for the 2018 edition of the Jaguars?
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A division title and a trip to the AFC Championship game is a difficult feat, and an accomplishment that seems to have somewhat gotten lost in the just how bitterly that game ended last season. But now fans want more, not unfairly, and Jacksonville is named by most in the media as a squad that can compete for a title.
The schedule is not overwhelming on paper, but will challenge the team’s quest for a repeat division crown. The Jaguars will play six playoff teams from 2017, including rematches with each team Jacksonville met in that postseason.
The schedule, as on now, plays as top heavy with matchups with the Patriots, Titans, Chiefs, Cowboys, and Super Bowl champion Eagles on the docket in the first eight games. If Jacksonville can hit the bye week at .500 or better, the door will be wide open for a run to the playoffs to close out the regular season. The Sunday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week eleven will be a key measuring stick on where the Jaguars stand late in the year.
Taking all that in consideration, and with how the roster shapes up, ten wins, like the 2017 campaign, should be the bar for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Any more would be a wildly successful season, while nine or less would be disappointing with the talent the team is returning.