The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off of their best performance in perhaps 15 years (though 30-9 in Pittsburgh in 2017 comes to mind). They ran the ball 47 times for 192 yards and four—four!—touchdowns. We've already covered their dominant victory, so I won't rehash it here, but suffice to say that the Jags are coming into Arizona hot.
After whooping the Chargers all over Everbank Stadium, what should fans expect against a Cardinals team with backup quarterback Jacoby Brisset—who, oddly enough, seems to be playing better than Kyler Murray, anyway. Not to mention that two of Jacksonville's four losses came against backups—Jake Browning of Cleveland and Davis Mills of Houston, both of whom put up solid numbers against the Jaguars defense.
Fans will have to wait for whichever version of Jacksonville shows up on Sunday. Until then, here are three wild predictions for the Jaguars entering Week 12.
Jaguars hold the Cardinals to less than 70 yards rushing
While the Jaguars defense certainly has its holes—namely in the passing game—they're second in the league with rushing yards allowed, with only 86.7 yards per game. Last week, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert led his team in rushing with only 21 yards.
Even though I don't anticipate another performance like that, the Cardinals only average 105 yards per game. Plus, their running back room seems to have been a merry-go-round, with seven players having 20+ rushing attempts this year.
Related: 3 head-turning stats that defined the Jaguars dominant showing vs. Chargers
Jaguars score a non-offense touchdown
My predictions over the last few weeks have been hit-or-miss, so I'm going to hedge my bets again to pad my ego. The Jaguars lead the league with two punts returned for a touchdown (the only team with more than one), not to mention wide receiver Parker Washington had one called back thanks to a penalty. Linebacker Devin Lloyd had a pick-six against Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Overall, the Jaguars' defense and special teams have been explosive and often game-changing. I'm looking to see more of that after a confidence-boosting, dominant performance against a very talented Los Angeles Chargers.
Josh Hines-Allen gets two sacks
I know, I know. Josh Hines-Allen has three sacks all year. Sure, he's been getting pressures, but he's not been getting home like he did a couple of years ago in 2023 when he notched 17.5. But take a look back at that year. He had eight games with zero sacks and five with two or more.
His sacks come in droves with stretches of games that look less impressive. After setting the franchise record last week, Hines-Allen is going to be hungry against a Cardinals team that's given up a fifth-worst 34 sacks.
And plus, Hines-Allen is just a solid dude: He offered to pay the (undeserved) fine for rookie BJ Green II. How can you not root for him?
Final thoughts
That season isn't over, though most of us fans wouldn't mind going out on the high note that was a 35-6 whooping of the Chargers. Worse, this is a week-to-week league, and the Jaguars have historically played up or down to the level of their opponents. Under new head coach Liam Coen, however, I expect to see a hungry Jacksonville team ready to take it to a struggling squad in Arizona.
#DTWD