Jaguars not ready for the spotlight in 2023: 3 takeaways from Week 10 loss vs. 49ers

1. The Jaguars deserve the Pretender label following the loss vs. the 49ers

The Jags made noise in the first half of the season. Their 6-2 record was tied for the best in the AFC and they riding a five-game winning streak heading into Week 10. While some analysts and talking heads began to hop onto the Jacksonville bandwagon, some remained unconvinced, among them was Chris Broussard of FS1, who went as far as to call them pretenders. Broussard got lots of flak for his comments but maybe he was into something.

Broussard has conceded that the Jaguars are good enough to win the AFC South in 2023 but they don't have what it takes to make a deep playoff run. Looking at the embarrassing loss to the 49ers, that could be the case.

Now, one game doesn't make or break a team but the Jags showed they have lots of work to do if they want to be mentioned in the same breath as teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs or the Baltimore Ravens. To make matters worse, the Houston Texans are narrowing the gap between them and the Jags in the race for the AFC South crown. Unlike Jacksonville, they took care of business in Week 11, beating the playoff-bound Cincinnati Bengals.

Now, the 5-3 Texans are one game behind Jacksonville and they've already beat them in Week 3. If the Jaguars lose in Week 12, Houston could take over the No. 1 place in the division.

It's not time to panic yet for the Jacksonville Jaguars but the loss to the 49ers should be a wake-up call. If they don't bounce back and put it all together against Tennessee, their season could soon take an ugly turn.

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