Jaguars enter Week 13 with slim chance to make the playoffs (hope is not lost)

You would think that based on how the Jacksonville Jaguars have played this season, they would already be eliminated from playoff contention. But that's not the case. They still have a chance as slight as it may be to qualify. Then again, the margin for error will be slim when they face the Houston Texans in Week 13.

The Jags are currently 2-9 with a less than one percent chance to make the playoffs, according to NFL Media. A win against the Texans would marginally increase their odds of getting in but a loss would bring them down to zero.

In fact, the Jags would need to go 6-0 to have a 20 percent chance to qualify. All things considered, their odds don't look great, but they've been streaky during the Doug Pederson era. They could ride a funk for several weeks, only to enjoy a winning streak in consecutive games.

Back in 2022, the Jags were 3-6 and on the outside looking. However, they got hot and went on to win six of their last seven games to win the AFC South and make the playoffs. You could make the case that they haven't played nearly as well as they did that year, but the truth is that they could build momentum if they beat Houston.

Granted, Jacksonville is a 5-point underdog in Week 13 but a win could be all the team needs to run the table.

Trevor Lawrence believes the Jaguars still have a chance

Trevor Lawrence, for one, is aware that they have nobody but themselves to blame for the position they're in. However, he's not looking back and is instead focused on the task at hand.

"We're looking at this obviously, the season hasn't gone like you said," Lawrence responded when asked how important are the remaining divisional games on the Jaguars' slate. "The season hasn't gone how we wanted it to, and we got to regroup and kind of reflect a little bit over the Bye week. We got six weeks. That's what we're guaranteed. Beyond that. Who knows what can happen? You see some crazy things. So we don't feel like we're necessarily out of anything. It's definitely a challenge. It's an uphill battle, but that's what we got in front of us."

Lawrence continued, "It's the situation we put ourselves in, and four division games that also adds a wrinkle to a lot that can happen at the end of the season. So we just have to take it one week at a time, though, and this is a big one, Houston, a team that we haven't beat here at home in a long time, a team that beat us earlier in the season, in the game, that we felt like we had every opportunity to win, and came out short handed on that one."

"So there's a lot of motivation for us, we just want to go play our best football Sunday and find a way to win, and then we'll move on after that. But 100 percent, four out of six division games, that's really big for our team. And regardless of how this thing shapes up, in the end, we got six games of football left, so it doesn't really matter what the big picture is. You want to go out there and play your best and really play better than we have the past however many games."

Based on how the Jaguars' season has played out, it's understandable if you feel frustrated. Having said that, they still have a chance to turn things around. The odds are against them, but as Trevor Lawrence said, crazier things have happened.

More Jaguars analysis here: