The Jacksonville Jaguars are entering Week 14 with an 8-4 record, tied with the Indianapolis Colts for first place in the AFC South. The good news is Jacksonville plays the Colts on Sunday and later in Week 17. That means the Jags have the opportunity to claim the top spot on Sunday, and secure it in a few weeks.
While Jacksonville will probably have to win more remaining games than just the two against Indianapolis, all that matters right now is Sunday’s game. This is the first meeting of the year between the two best teams in the division, and the winner will have sole possession of first place. Fortunately for the Jaguars, they have an advantage in their back pocket. That advantage is being the home team, because the Colts haven’t won on the road against Jacksonville since 2014.
Jaguars will defend a 10-game winning streak against the Colts at home
Hosting the Colts once a season, the Jaguars have won their last 10 games as the home team — that includes a 2016 game that took place in London. The rest of the games were in Jacksonville, which is viewed as a house of horrors for Colts fans, because they simply can’t win there.
Some games have been blowouts, and others have been close, but the result is always the same. One that stands out the most was the one in 2020. The Jags beat Indianapolis in Week 1 and went on to lose 15 straight games, so even in a season in which they were dreadful, they still managed to repel their dreaded division rival.
Indianapolis has traveled to Florida as the significantly better team, at times, throughout the streak, and it simply hasn’t mattered. When Jaguars fans were clowning their own franchise in 2021, and the Colts were playing for a spot in the postseason, Jacksonville still found a way to win. The quality of the teams doesn’t seem to matter, and that’s why some Indy people think Jacksonville is just a haunted place for the Colts.
The Jaguars would certainly love for that to be the case on Sunday. Both teams are good this season, and it’s expected to be a battle. The win could go a long way in deciding the AFC South champion, as the result will be a part of the head-to-head tiebreaker, as well as the division record tiebreaker. With the Houston Texans now one game behind both teams, they each need the win. Jacksonville is hoping the home-field advantage will get the job done.