Ryan O’Halloran: Rare fast start by Jaguars offense led to rout
Entering their game against the New York Jets, the Jaguars had scored only two opening-drive touchdowns this year. They made it three on Sunday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have secured double-digit wins in their first season under head coach Liam Coen.
Riding a 48-20 victory against the New York Jets, they’ll travel to face the Denver Broncos this weekend in a matchup that holds huge playoff implications.
The Broncos are currently the top-seed in the AFC after the New England Patriots lost against the Buffalo Bills. The Jaguars can’t really afford to stumble as the Houston Texans are right behind them in the race for the AFC South.
The Jaguars can clinch their playoff ticket with:
JAX win + IND loss or tie ORJAX win + HOU loss or tie ORJAX tie + IND loss ORJAX tie + IND tie + HOU loss
“I think Mile High is a really cool place to play and compete at,” Coen told reporters about the game against the Broncos. “You think about football, you think about going and playing a game like this. So, this is going to be a really good challenge for us.”
The full AFC playoff picture has the Broncos at No. 1, Patriots at No. 2, Jaguars at No. 3, Steelers at No. 4, Chargers at No. 5, Bills at No. 6 and the Texans are the No. 7 seed. The Colts and Ravens are still on the bubble.
With only a few weeks remaining, let’s pose the question: Who should the Jaguars want to face in the post season?
Honestly, if the Colts somehow make the dance and the Jaguars could get matched up with them for a third game this season. It’d probably be the most favorable opponent. Especially if that game happened in Duval, where the Colts haven’t won in over a decade.
Phillip Rivers didn’t really inspire confidence in his first dip back into the pool as the Colts lost to the Seattle Seahawks. And with the top run defense in the league, Jonathan Taylor would likely be neutralized.
The Jaguars and Ravens actually have pretty good familiarity with each other. They played in a 28-27 thriller in 2022 where the Jaguars rallied to win on their home turf. Then the Ravens decimated the Jaguars on Sunday Night Football in 2023, reportedly motivated by some bulletin board material that leaked from the Jaguars’ locker room.
But the Ravens have stumbled throughout this season and would be a favorable matchup with Baltimore’s run-heavy offense going against Jacksonville’s run defense.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Jaguars and Steelers faced each other once this season already. Pittsburgh made the trip to Jacksonville for preseason football, beating the Jaguars in Coen’s first game as head coach. Something tells me the rematch might go a little differently.
I think the Jaguars could expose Pittsburgh’s defense and there’s not enough magic in Aaron Rodgers to match the scoring output for Jacksonville.
Los Angeles Chargers
A repeat matchup against the Chargers would be interesting in the postseason. It felt like Los Angeles ran into a buzzsaw that was a pissed off Jaguars’ team and never got out of the gate. Now Justin Herbert is playing with a broken hand and is trying to keep the Chargers on pace as the Bills are right on their back.
You’d have to think a rematch would provide more back-and-forth between the two sides.
Buffalo Bills
After a rough stretch in the middle of the season it seems like Josh Allen is putting it together. The Bills are starting to surge, winning four of their last five games. Still, this would be a moderately favorable matchup as the Jaguars would likely be able to match Buffalo’s scoring output.
Plus, the run defense would likely force James Cook to struggle for yardage as the Bills became one dimensional.
New England Patriots
Mike Vrabel is no stranger to playing the Jaguars. The former head coach of the Tennessee Titans has his new club rolling right now. Drake Maye is an MVP candidate and has shown an ability to make all the throws and make all the necessary plays to win.
It’d be an interesting battle between Jacksonville’s offense and New England’s defense as Liam Coen would try to create favorable matchups for Trevor Lawrence and company.
Houston Texans
A third showdown with the Texans would not go well for the Jaguars in my opinion. They narrowly escaped in Week 3. Then they were walked down by Davis Mills and handed an embarrassing loss in Week 10.
Even with how well Jacksonville’s offense is playing, I don’t think they want any parts of a third dance with Houston’s defense. It’s clear and away the best defensive unit in the league and has top-end players at every level.
Denver Broncos
If the Texans have the top defense in the league, the Broncos aren’t far behind them. Boasted by, statistically, the best pass rush in the NFL and the top cornerback in the league, they can match up with anyone.
Feel how you want about Bo Nix but he gets results, and Sean Payton has squeezed the most out of that roster. It’ll be an interesting matchup and we won’t have to wait until January to see it.