Playoff projections reveal Jaguars' most likely first-round opponent

After taking care of business against the Denver Broncos, the Jacksonville Jaguars are now 11-4. This is noteworthy when you take into account that this is the most wins they've racked up dating back to 2007. Moreover, the Jags already clinched a playoff berth, their first one in three years.

By all accounts, Year 1 of the Liam Coen era has been a resounding success. However, Jacksonville is hungry and doesn't appear to be satisfied even after qualifying for the postseason. That's precisely the attitude you want to see on a team that is still having trouble getting the recognition it deserves.

And based on the latest playoff projections, the Jaguars may get to show just how good they are against a familiar face in Super WildCard Weekend.

The Jaguars could face the Texans in Round 1 of the playoffs

While things could change at any point in the next couple weeks, the Jaguars are trending toward facing the Houston Texans in Week 17. They currently hold the No. 3 seed and have a 39 percent chance of playing their dreaded divisional foe in Super Wild Card Weekend, according to playoffstatus. Jacksonville's second-most likely matchup will be against the Los Angeles Chargers at 25 percent.

The Jags would surely like to face the Chargers since they've beaten them three times in a row dating back to 2022, when they came back from a 27-point deficit to win 31-30. However, there's a higher chance they'll ultimately play Houston.

Already, Jacksonville played the Texans twice this season. They won the first one and came close to winning the second one before they suffered a meltdown in the fourth quarter.

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Why the Jaguars will want to face the Texans in the playoffs

Playing the Chargers would arguably leave the Jaguars with a more favorable path in the playoffs. However, the competitor in them will surely want to see how they measure up against a red-hot Houston team that's won six in a row.

Aside from Jacksonville, there may not be another team playing as well as the Texans. Their defense is one of the best in recent years, which has led to a myriad of memes on the internet, such as the following one.

Or this one about rabies:

Leaving memes aside, the Texans have given up just 249 points this season, the fewest across the league. That means the Jaguars would face a tough matchup, but one they would surely embrace, especially when you take into account that they have a pretty good offense, and their defense also ranks in the top 10 in most meaningful categories.

Knowing they lost their Week 10 matchup, don't you think the Jags will look forward to the opportunity to exact revenge on their division foes?

The bottom line is that facing the Texans isn't the kind of matchup theJaguars would like to start the playoffs, but it would most definitely legitimize everything they've done this season.