Jaguars: FanSided.com’s new NFL power rankings for Week 10

Where do the Jacksonville Jaguars rank after a tough AFC South loss to the Houston Texans at home at Wembley Stadium?

Despite the loss on Sunday to the Houston Texans in London, the playoffs are not out of the question for the Jacksonville Jaguars. But like many NFL teams on the outside looking in, they will need to play a better brand of football in the final seven weeks of their season and hope some of the teams, especially in their division, slip up on their way to the postseason.

It’s not an ideal situation, having fallen flat on their faces in the 26-3 beatdown at the hands of Houston on Sunday, but as has been said before in many situations, “So you’re saying, there is a chance?”

If there is that chance we are talking about, it more than likely will come with veteran quarterback back Nick Foles under center for Jacksonville with rookie Gardner Minshew watching from the sideline with his mustache and bandana soaking up more knowledge as the team’s man of the future.

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Jacksonville is 4-5 currently heading into the bye week and in ninth place in the AFC. There is still plenty of football to be played, with the team facing Indianapolis and Tennessee in back-to-back games starting with Week 11.

In terms of where this team stands in the most recent FanSided.com NFL power rankings, the loss at Wembley Stadium did not hurt Jacksonville too much as they skinned their knee, falling from 16th to 18th in Russell Baxter’s latest offering.

"“The Jaguars, winners of their last two contests, were in London on Sunday afternoon and looked to avoid being swept by the Houston Texans. Doug Marrone’s club trailed by six points at halftime and the Jacksonville offense managed only 120 total yards and three points after two quarters of action,” Baxter wrote.“Things got worse for the Jaguars in the second half and despite the fact that the team rolled up 356 total yards by game’s end, rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew committed four second-half turnovers in Jacksonville’s fourth straight loss in this series. Meanwhile, the Jaguars’ defense was gashed for 216 yards on the ground – 160 by Houston’s Carlos Hyde.”"

Even with possibly his worst outing as a rookie here in Duval, Minshew has thrown for over 2,200 yards and has a 13-to-4 touchdown to interception rating. He has been sacked 21 times which is ninth in the league. Now, with the week off and the coaching staff and front office huddling to determine who will throw footballs in Indianapolis on. Nov. 17, the dividing line has been drawn. Is this the end of “Minshew Mania” or is there still hope for the rookie to summon the NFL gods for a second-half rally that gets Jacksonville back to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus?

That’s why Foles was paid millions of dollars to do this season, but a broken collarbone has dashed those hopes for the moment. If the season was lost while the former Super Bowl MVP was healing, it might not be an issue as the front office may have given Foles the rest of the year to rest and start over in 2020.

Minshew has had a solid season, regardless of the performance in London, and deserves to be part of the conversation of which passer gives the team the best chance to win. For me, it’s still a veteran who should be running the offense as Foles and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo were brought in to do.

"“The Jaguars are in the midst of an interesting season in which they have lost two games and followed that up with consecutive wins twice this season,” Baxter adds. “Does that mean this setback to the Texans is the first of two straight defeats once again? Still, the next two weeks will tell us a lot about [Doug] Marrone’s intriguing squad.”"

Things do get a bit better for the Jaguars with their remaining schedule. Five of the final seven games are played against teams with a .500 record or below.