Could the Jacksonville Jaguars play themselves into another primetime game in 2018?
By Billy Long
Another season of pushing for the playoffs for the Jacksonville Jaguars could lead to an additional primetime game by regular season’s end.
Last season was supposed to be just another year for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a decade of ineptitude, the team was once again expected by most to sputter. So much so that the Jaguars were awarded zero primetime games in 2017, including no Thursday night game that had seemed to become the norm.
But after a division winning, AFC title game appearing season, Jacksonville was once again slotted for national television in 2018. The Jaguars were granted two primetime games, week eleven at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, and a week 14 Thursday night road game against the Tennessee Titans.
Even after the playoff run and accumulating one of the most talent rosters in the league, that is a lower number of appearances than numerous other teams, including multiple teams that missed the playoffs in 2017.
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But could Jacksonville perform themselves into adding to the current total of two? The full Sunday Night Football schedule has obviously been released, but the NFL has the power to flex games into the NBC slot if a better game is available. What the league likes to do and has done since flexing has been doable is substitute in matchups late in the season that have playoff implications.
The most important flex move, whenever there is at least one in play with the stakes, is putting a final week 17 game with a division title or “win and in” on the line in the SNF spot.
Because of that, there is a chance that the Jaguars’ final regular season game against the Houston Texans could fit that billing. The Texans went just 4-12 last season, but shown flashes of a competing team within the limited sample size of Deshaun Watson.
Next: Jaguars not a playoff team in 2018?
Jacksonville can easily be 11-4 or 10-5 with one game to go, and honestly have no reason to be worse than 9-6 at that point. If Watson does blossom into the franchise changing quarterback that Houston believes he is, the AFC South could come down to a winner take all final showdown.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently slated for two primetime games. But if last season’s success was indeed just a start, the team will once again be must-see TV late in the season.