The Jacksonville Jaguars made waves in the standings in Week 12. By beating the Arizona Cardinals, they moved into the sixth seed in the AFC, leapfrogging the Buffalo Bills, who took a brutal loss to the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. Clearly, the Jags knew they’d have to pull out the dub to keep pace with the suddenly surging Texans, who are riding a three-game win streak with Davis Mills under center.
Jacksonville is now in a great position to overtake the Los Angeles Chargers, too, who have the same record but hold the tiebreaker in conference record at 6-2 compared to the Jags’ 4-2 mark. They also closed the gap on the Indianapolis Colts, who fell to the Kansas City Chiefs to move to 8-3, just one game ahead of the Jaguars with both of their head-to-head matchups still left on the schedule.
While Jacksonville got a very important win in Arizona, they didn’t get a very convincing one, needing overtime to pull out a three-point victory over Jacoby Brissett. It’s like the Jaguars are begging pundits to call them fake and “mid.”
Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) closes in for a sack on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) at State Farm Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Jaguars survived Week 12
This Jacksonville Jaguars team just keeps finding ways to win under Head Coach Liam Coen. It’s not always pretty, but they’re now 5-3 in one-score games. They’ve only been completely out of a contest once this season, in their 35-7 drubbing at the hands of Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in London, but even that one was closer than the final margin suggested.
Regardless, the Jaguars know that they’ll have to forcibly take respect from the national media. This team will never have the benefit of the doubt until they earn it. Trevor Lawrence didn’t do that in Week 12. Instead, he threw three interceptions and got strip-sacked for a defensive touchdown, forcing Jacksonville to go wire-to-wire with a 3-7 Arizona Cardinals team led by a backup quarterback.
Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks on after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Jaguars’ Power Rankings
CBS Sports: 13, Last: 13
NFL.com: 14, Last: 16
Yahoo Sports: 14, Last: 15
ESPN: 14, Last: 17
Despite a win where they clearly played down to their competition, or at least Trevor Lawrence did, the Jaguars did prove that they belong in the top half of the league’s rankings. This team is more likely to make the playoffs than not and have a legitimate chance to overtake the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC South. NFL.com’s Eric Edholm still wants to see more from Jacksonville, though:
“Glass half full: The Jaguars have won three of four since their Week 8 bye — including two overtime victories on the road — and the Colts’ lead in the AFC South has shrunk dramatically. If the Jags can take care of business against the 1-10 Titans this week, it will set up an epic showdown with Indy for divisional supremacy in Week 14 at Jacksonville — where the Colts haven’t won in more than a decade, strangely.”
“However, there’s a glass-half-empty view, too. Beating the Raiders (now 2-9) and Cardinals (3-8) in OT only earns you so many flowers, and the shocking loss to the Texans in Week 10 still looms large. Sunday was hardly a thing of beauty, with Trevor Lawrence throwing three picks, although he rallied multiple times to lead important scoring drives. There’s a pluckiness to this group that can’t be denied, even as the Jaguars resemble flawed contenders.”
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