Could the Jacksonville Jaguars make it to the playoffs?

The Jacksonville Jaguars hometown media, Facebook sites, and fans are still hoping for a playoff berth. The question to ask is it a possibility or a pipe dream?

The road to the playoffs is easy to explain. The Jacksonville Jaguars hope they aren’t sitting at home this holiday season. A team either wins one of the four conference divisions or is one of the top six teams in their conference.  Obviously, the best way is to win the division.

The division win gives the team at least one less game to play on the way to the Super Bowl. However, a wild card, one of the two extra teams, is better than staying at home watching the games on TV.

It’s time to take a realistic look at the Jaguars chances.  To start they aren’t mathematically eliminated but they need a huge second half of the season and some help from the other teams in the AFC conference and the AFC South division.  It’s a stretch to hope for 8 wins but six wins are possible with great play and a little luck.

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The offense and Blake Bortles must play better for this to happen. The defense, led by Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue and Jalen Ramsey, must do a better job of containing their opponents in this second half of the season.

AFC South division – The Jaguars are currently 0-2 in the division.  They must win all four games to have a chance at the title.  It could happen with three but the odds are much worse.  The Houston Texans are 2-1 in division play.

They need to lose their last three division games or two if the Jaguars outscore them by more than 13 points.  The Tennessee Titans are 2-0.  If they lose four games or three games if we beat them by more than three points then our record is better. The Indianapolis Colts are 0-1 in the division.  Once again if they lose 3 or 4 and we defeat them then we are ahead of them in the division.

It is possible but not very likely that we could win the division.  The chances are better for a wild-card berth.

Wildcard – The four conference winners are joined by two wild-card teams.  If the playoff were held today the wild card teams would be the Los Angeles Chargers at 6-2 and the Cincinnati Bengals at 5-3.

The Jaguars are currently 10th at 3-5.  A realistic chance requires a 9-7 record.  If more than one team has a 9-7 record there are a variety of tiebreakers.  The complexity of this is beyond my comprehension but anything less than 9-7 is a deal breaker.

9-7… Is it possible? – The Jaguars must and should defeat the Colts twice, the Buffalo Bills, and either the Titans or the Texans.  The Jaguars must then win two of the games against the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Pittsburg Steelers, and either the Titans or Texans.  That scenario gives the Jags six wins and a chance for a wild card.

Let’s go back to the original question.  Are the playoffs a pipe dream or possibility?  The playoffs are a possibility but it requires excellent play and a ton of luck.  Jaguar fans will know quickly if this will happen.

The first step comes on Sunday. It’s a division win over the Indianapolis Colts.