Week 8 feels like a hinge point for the Jaguars, and not just because they’re coming off the bye.
Jacksonville returns home Sunday to face the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium, and the path in the AFC South suddenly looks wide open. With the Colts conceding the division after the trades of Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, and the Texans stuck at 2-5 and still searching for answers, the Jaguars have a real shot to seize control if they handle business.
If they do, the conversation can shift fast from the division to the bigger picture in the AFC.
That makes this a useful week to check where Jacksonville sits in the national power-rankings picture. Across the board, the Jaguars are mostly holding steady, though there’s been a little movement around them.
SI keeps Liam Coen’s team at No. 8.
The Jaguars stay put there, with an opportunity ahead to climb if they can cash in on upcoming games against the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears. The only team that nudged ahead was the Seahawks, who used the bye week to move in front.
Beyond that, the teams above Jacksonville mostly stayed where they were, with the Minnesota Vikings needing to lose eventually before the Jaguars can make a meaningful jump.
The Bengals are the main source of debate in a few of these rankings. More than one outlet has Cincinnati above Jacksonville, and that’s where the questions really start. The Jaguars already beat the Bengals in Cincinnati, and the source material doesn’t hide the skepticism about putting Cincinnati ahead of them.
One set of rankings had little movement overall, and Jacksonville stayed at No. 8 there as well. The thought is simple enough: if the Chiefs keep slipping, the Jaguars could be right there to move past them later, especially with strength of schedule working in their favor.
Another list dropped the Jaguars a bit because of Week 7 risers like the Bears, who come in on the back of a strong performance. In that case, the bye week cost Jacksonville a spot, and the next few weeks become the place to make that back up with important AFC South games.
Then there’s the ranking that pushed the Jaguars out of the top five in favor of the Bengals. That’s the one that stands out most.
Cincinnati’s defense is still shaky, and the offense needed 35 unanswered points in the second half against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 just to recover from a rough opening half. The idea of the Bengals sitting ahead of Jacksonville is hard to square, especially with the Jaguars having already beaten them and looking like the better team in that Week 4 matchup.
Two touchdowns and an interception were taken off the board by questionable officiating, but the point remains: the Jaguars looked better than Cincinnati.
In another roundup, the Jaguars moved up after the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first losses of the season. Those losses mattered. Neither team looked untouchable against the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, and that opened the door for Jacksonville to climb in the conversation.
The rankings are fairly static overall, but the opportunity in front of the Jaguars is anything but.
In Other News...
Jaguars Trade Buzz Now Centers On One Name Fans Wont Like
Trade chatter around the league keeps circling back to a handful of notable names, and for Jaguars fans the most eye-catching one is Brian Thomas Jr. Multiple teams have reportedly checked in on deals involving the Colts Josh Downs and Thomas, with Downs said to be possibly open to a move. It is the sort of buzz that tends to follow a receiver who has already shown enough to draw attention, even if most of these conversations stay in the realm of due diligence.
Jacksonville is also being tied to a possible swing for Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne, which adds another layer to the rumor mill as teams try to sort out whether they want to add, subtract or simply keep listening. Around the rest of the league, Titans players Jermaine Johnson, Tony Pollard and Alontae Taylor have also come up as trade possibilities, underscoring how active the market feels. For the Jaguars, the bigger question is whether interest in Thomas is just background noise or something that will force the front office to answer calls more seriously. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Look Like A Team That Could Swing Big Again
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Jaguars are once again being mentioned as a team to watch if the market heats up. ESPN analysts Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano both pointed to Jacksonville as a possible buyer, with Fowler even floating Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne as a name to keep in mind if Washington decides to listen.
Jacksonville already showed a willingness to make a move at last years deadline when it brought in Jakobi Meyers, and Graziano suggested the front office could be looking for more help on the defensive side this time around. For a team trying to keep pushing forward, that kind of aggressive mindset usually means the next week could be a lot more interesting than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Have A Clear Trade Deadline Fix For A Lingering Pass Rush Problem
The Jaguars have spent enough time looking at their pass rush to know the issue is not simply one player or one missed chance. Their defense could use more disruption inside, and Philadelphia defensive tackle Moro Ojomo has surfaced as a logical name to watch before the trade deadline. Ojomo fits the kind of scheme Jacksonville wants to play, and his ability to affect the pocket from the interior makes him an appealing answer to a problem that has lingered for stretches this season.
For Jacksonville, the appeal is as much about timing as fit. Ojomo is expected to move on from the Eagles after this season anyway, which is why a deal could make sense for both sides if Philadelphia decides to cash in now rather than later. The Jaguars would be trying to stabilize a weakness with a player who can help right away, while the Eagles would have a chance to get value before the situation changes on its own. [Read more 🡒]