Jaguars climb out of the bottom of NFL.com Power Rankings

How much did the win last Sunday in Oakland help the Jaguars in the most recent NFL.com power rankings? Not as much as you think.

If you are considered the worst team in the league by NFL.com last week and you beat your opponent, what does that get you? The Jacksonville Jaguars are now the 29th ranked team in the NFL, escaping the mystique of falling into football’s pit of misery.

The Jaguars are now ahead of Cincinnati (32nd), Detroit (31st) and the New York Giants (30th). After watching the game last week in Oakland, you could see some life in this team, although it took three quarters to get the offense going.

"“The Jaguars are finishing off a lost season that will almost assuredly lead to a major overhaul — on the roster, on the sidelines and likely upstairs in management,” writes Dan Hanzus. ”So let’s give Doug Marrone and his team credit for getting off the soggy turf at Oakland Coliseum and deciding not to let the Raiders throw a goodbye party at their expense.”"

The Jaguars can help there cause some more this weekend when they travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons, who are also own a 5-9 record.

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According to Hanzus, the Falcons jumped five spots from 23rd to 18th this week with their win over the San Francisco 49ers.

The Jaguars were successful last week, as Hanzus explained, based on their quarterback play, which engineered the game-winning drives with a little over five minutes left to play in Oakland.

"“Gardner Minshew maximized his final chance to make something happen late in the fourth quarter, leading Jacksonville on the go-ahead touchdown drive to seal a 20-16 come-from-behind win,” Hanzus wrote.”"

For Minshew, this wasn’t a show-stopping game, but it proved once again the team’s offense rallies around him when the game is slipping away. He spoke about the importance of the win on Sunday and how he was part of something historically special.

"“It’s something special to be a part of,” Minshew said of the Raiders’ Oakland finale. “It will be like an Aflac trivia question in like 20 years.”"

The Minshew hype train has gained steam once again in Jacksonville. Fans who were upset with the team’s decision to bench him in favor of Nick Foles, are back out in force, wearing bandanas, jorts, and sunglasses with a sick mustache.

"“Minshew has been impressive all season, but never more so than in this moment, corporate branding his own hypothetical trivia question,” Hanzus added."

Both Marrone in Jacksonville and head coach Dan Quinn in Atlanta are fighting to keep their jobs at the end of the season. A couple more wins for both coaches could make that decision a bit easier for the front offices of both organizations.