After weeks of speculation, the NFL just announced the date of the 2026 schedule release. The Jacksonville Jaguars already knew their opponents for next season, but they will soon find out when they'll face them.
In case you missed it, the league hadn't shared an official date for the announcement. Speculation arose that they could drop it on May 18 or 19, but it will ultimately come out on the 14th.
Last year, the Jags teamed with influencer Ashton Hall for the schedule release. In 2024, they dropped an X-Men-themed announcement. It will be interesting to see what kind they're brewing this year.
For the time being, here are three bold predictions for the Jacksonville schedule release:
The Jaguars will face the Broncos in the opener
Things got heated between the Jaguars and the Broncos when head coach Sean Payton called Jacksonville a good team from a small market. While he was seemingly heaping praise, Liam Coen didn't take it kindly and used it as a rallying cry for his team to come out on top.
The Jags ended up beating Denver, and it seemed like they were going to have a rematch in the playoffs. However, they ended up facing the Buffalo Bills and losing in the Wild Card. Meanwhile, the Broncos advanced all the way to the conference championship.
There's no doubt that the Jaguars are still holding a grudge against the Broncos, and they'll be looking to prove that their win in 2025 wasn't an outlier when they face them next season.
The Jaguars will then play 4 road games, face a gauntlet early
The Jaguars became battle-tested under Liam Coen. While they struggled early in the season, they managed to put it all together to finish 13-4. Jacksonville will be looking to show that 2025 wasn't a fluke, but it will now have a target on its back, because opposing teams will try to "expose them."
Moreover, 2026 will present a new set of challenges for the Jaguars. One of them is that they'll play four road games and will face the Denver Broncos, the Houston Texans, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the New England Patriots within the first five weeks of the season. This will serve as an early test for Jacskonville in Year 2 of the Coen era.
The Jaguars will have 3 primetimes in 2026 because of Trevor Lawrence
After receiving two primetimes in 2024, the Jaguars only got one last season, and understandably so after going 4-13 in the last year of the Doug Pederson era. But that was then, and Jacksonville is now coming off a trip to the playoffs and its first AFC South title since 2022.
Couple that with Trevor Lawrence's ascension and the Travis Hunter factor, and nobody will bat an eye if the Jags once again get lots of exposure on national TV, in the form of three primetime games.
But unlike the last time the Jags got the national spotlight, they will make the most out of their primetimes in 2026.
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