Jaguars move up several spots in Power Rankings following win vs. Colts

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 and they left no doubt that they’re currently the best team in the AFC South. Analysts saw the Jags’ dominant performance over Indy and took it into consideration when putting their most recent power rankings together.

One week after finishing near the cellar in B/R’s and NFL Media’s rankings, the Jags have moved up several spots after shutting out the Colts. They popped up at No. 25 at B/R and finished 28th in the one Dan Hanzus of NFL Media drew up. Hanzus praises Trevor Lawrence for making sound football decisions and credits Doug Pederson for crafting a solid game plan.

"Last year’s No. 1 overall pick played smart and efficient football in his second start of the season, avoiding the mistakes of last week’s loss in Washington and letting the Jacksonville defense do the rest in a 24-0 win over the sagging Colts. Lawrence had completions to seven different receivers, including two passing scores to Christian Kirk. Credit Doug Pederson for cooking up a sound game plan that gave Lawrence good looks and open receivers as Jacksonville build up a 17-0 lead at the half."

On the other hand, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports put the Jaguars at No. 22. Prisco was impressed with Jacksonville’s defensive effort in Week 2 but points out that they’ll “face a tough test this week” when they fly to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Surprisingly, Hanzus gave the Colts a higher spot than Jacksonville even though they’re coming off an embarrassing loss. He argues that “the soft nature” of the AFC South could give them a chance to eventually bounce back. Prisco and the B/R staff got it right though and they ranked Indy below the Jags.

The Jaguars now need to take care of business vs. the Chargers

All things considered, the Jaguars were ranked fairly. They’re not a top 10/15 team yet and they need to win a few more games before they can move into the 10s. Having said that, they have enough pieces in place to do so.

Most of the additions the team’s brass made in the offseason have paid off. Christian Kirk is the No. 1 receiver he was expected to be while outside linebacker Travon Walker has made an impact right off the bat. It also helps to have running backs James Robinson and Travis Etienne back in the fold. Another thing to keep an eye on is that Jacksonville currently ranks fifth in points allowed and their defense has the third most takeaways in the league (six).

Of course, the Jaguars will go as far as Trevor Lawrence takes them. The former Clemson Tiger has shown improvement over the last two weeks. Against the Colts, he completed 83.3 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback will struggle every now and then but he should help Jacksonville double their win totals from last year.

It’s great to see the Jags at the top of the AFC South but this is a long season and things can change at any moment. They now need to beat the Chargers and extend their lead in the division.