Jaguars have favorable path to No. 1 seed: Predicting final 6 games of 2023 season
• The Jaguars are gaining steam entering the last stretch of the 2023 season
• Here's a look at how the next six games on their schedule could play out
The Jacksonville Jaguars have bounced back nicely after falling to the San Francisco 49ers, winning the past two games. They're now 8-3 and find themselves in thick for the No. 1 postseason seed in the AFC. While the Jags will be facing tough competition to clinch the top seed and a playoff BYE, it's doable.
Teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens are also in the race for the No. 1 spot in the AFC, so the margin for error will be slim. With that in mind, here's a look at the rest of the Jaguars schedule and a prediction for each of their last six games.
Week 13 vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Win
Had Joe Burrow been available for this bout, this would arguably be the most exciting game of the week, a duel of two young gunslingers: Burrow, and Trevor Lawrence. However, the Bengals' star quarterback is out for the year with a wrist injury and the Jacksonville Jaguars will face journeyman Jake Browning in his place.
That said, this is the kind of trap game the Jags must avoid falling prey to. Although there's a significant dropoff from Burrow — one of the three best quarterbacks in the league — to Browning, the defense must still account for Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins, who's been out for nearly a month with a hamstring injury but plans to play Sunday.
Also, the Jags must prepare for running back Joe Mixon, so this won't be precisely a walk in the park. On the bright side, they're a much better team (and healthy) on paper. If that wasn't enough, the contest will be held at EverBank Stadium, so they have no excuse for losing this one.