Should Jaguars rest their starters vs. Texans in Week 17?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have exceeded expectations in Doug Pederson’s first year at the helm. For the second time since 2008, they’ve won seven games. Also, they’re in first place in the AFC South following a win against the New York Jets and a Tennessee Titans’ loss in Week 17.

The Jags will next face off against the Houston Texans in Week 17 but they don’t need to win the game to seize the division or make the playoffs. All they need to do to get in is beat the Titans in the season finale, which is why Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports believes they should rest their starters in Week 17.

Kerr points out that even if the Jaguars beat the Texans and Tennesse losses to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, it won’t be enough for Jacksonville to win the AFC South.

"Both teams can’t improve their playoff positioning as the AFC South champion is locked into the No. 4 seed. The wild card race is technically still in play, but the Dolphins and Chargers are 8-6 heading into their games Sunday and Monday."

Simply put, Jacksonville has two paths to win the AFC South. Beat the Texans in Week 17 and tie with Tennessee in the finale. The alternative is defeating the Titans in Week 18.

The Jaguars must consider the pros of resting their starters in Week 17

As Kerr noted, neither the Jaguars nor Tennessee can improve their playoff seed, which makes Week 17 meaningless from a division point of view. Thus, Resting starters ahead of the finale is certainly a tempting proposition. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel told the media they have decisions to make about who will play in Week 17 and noted that some of his players haven’t been 100 percent.

Given that Tennessee has lost five straight games, some of their starters could benefit from an extra week of rest. On the other hand, they play on Thursday Night Football, which will give them ample time to rest for the finale.

The Jaguars just lost left tackle Cam Robinson and defensive end Dawuane Smoot to injuries, so the coaching staff Doug Pederson could consider resting some players in Week 17. After all, the last thing they want is to see another key player go down with injuries.

Defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi and outside linebacker Travon Walker have been dealing with injuries and it would be a good idea to let them get fully healthy. But other than them, it’s uncertain if they will sit their starters against the Texans.

Just like the Titans, the Jags have several days to make a decision. There’s certainly merit to resting their starters and giving them time to rest ahead of the finale. On the other hand, they wouldn’t want to get rusty, so playing against the Texans would also make sense.