Jaguars vs. Patriots: 5 bold predictions for Week 17

If the Jacksonville Jaguars want to know how a well-run NFL team looks, all they have to do is take a look at the opposite sideline in Week 17, when they face off against the New England Patriots.

You could argue the Pats hit the jackpot when they hired Bill Belichick as their head coach and later landed Tom Brady. However, you need more than luck to be successful for more than 20 years.

Getting Belichick was big for the Pats but back in the day, other NFL owners suggested Robert Kraft stay away from the “Hoodie“. He stayed the course and five Super Bowls later, he isn’t surely complaining about the hire, as Belichick is still going strong in his 27th year as a head coach (including his tenure with the Cleveland Browns).

The Jaguars are currently a 16-point underdog ahead of Week 17 but that doesn’t mean they’re just going to throw their hands up in the air and give up. Here are five bold predictions for the game.

1. Jaguars RB Dare Ogunbowale will average 4.5 yards per carry.

The Jaguars are down to their fourth running back with Travis Etienne (Lisfranc), James Robinson (Achilles), and Carlos Hyde (concussion) out for the season. You have probably heard that players are one injury away from stepping onto the field. It took three to the Jags for Dare Ogunbowale to get his chance but he will likely make the most out of it.

Ogunbowale was the Jaguars’ starting running back in the last two weeks of the 2020 season with Robinson dealing with an ankle injury. He tallied 28 carries for 121 yards and averaged 4.32 yards per rush in that span. The Pats’ defense ranks 23rd in the league against the run, so the Jaguars’ running back should get a big workload.