Jaguars ranked 20th in recent NFL.com Power Rankings

The Jaguars remain 20th in the most recent NFL.com power poll.

The AFC South might be the toughest division in football as the four teams within two games of each other in the playoff standings. In terms of where the Jaguars and the three other teams rank in the most recent power poll by NFL.com, it proves there is plenty of football still to be played this season.

There are also plenty of opportunities for Jacksonville and its rivals to make a move up the postseason ladder.

The Jaguars are currently 20th in the most recent rankings written by Dan Hanzus. Jacksonville, 4-5 coming off the bye week, have a chance to leap over their division rival Indianapolis, a team currently 17th in the league.

The Tennessee Titans are just one spot ahead of Jacksonville, coming in 19th, overall. And just so they aren’t left out of the story, the Houston Texans, who own the series with the Jaguars this season, are ninth overall.

To say this weekend’s game with the Colts is huge might be an understatement.

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"“Doug Marrone made the anticipated switch to Nick Foles in the bye week, and you have to admire the coach’s vision. Jaguars fans have rallied around rookie QB Gardner Minshew, both as a player and a shaggy underdog folk hero, so sending the sixth-round pick to the bench took some onions, to borrow a phrase from famed basketball announcer Bill Raftery,” Hanzus wrote.“Now we’ll see if Marrone’s decision pays off for a Jags team that needs a winning streak. In a way, it’s a no-lose situation for the Duval faithful. If Foles and the Jaguars surge, it will make for an exciting final seven weeks of the regular season in Jacksonville.”"

Despite the losing record, football in Jacksonville was on the uptick with Minshew under center and a defense that has played up to its 2017 form on different occasions this season. There have been some glitches with run defense, but for a team that lost it’s best player in a trade (the name shall not be used), things could be worse.

On offense, the emergence of both Leonard Fournette and DJ Chark has helped this unit force defenses to game plan for a solid running attack and wide receivers who are better than what was expected of them at the beginning of the season.

The gamble will be to see if Foles, who has been a solid starter in November and December the past two seasons in Philadelphia out of necessity, can work the same kind of magic in North Florida.

"“If Foles struggles, the Jags still have a promising young backup waiting in the wings. We’re no longer in Bortles-or-bust or Blaine-or-pain territory, the fan equivalent of being trapped on a burning boat with a pack of hungry crocodiles circling below,” Hanzus added."

As a team, the Jaguars rank 13th in passing in the NFL (247.6 yards a game), ninth in the league in rushing (129.6 yards a game) and 24th in scoring (19.6 points per contest). The team did not move from their spot last week in the rankings, having remained at No. 20.