The Jacksonville Jaguars will try to improve to 9-3 on Monday night when they play against the Cincinnati Bengals in a Week 13 game.
Before that primetime contest kicks off, most of the rest of the NFL will be in action Sunday. And for a Jaguars team that is in the thick of the battle for top seeding in the AFC playoff picture, there are plenty of games that could impact Jacksonville’s future.
The Jaguars’ spot at the top of the AFC South standings isn’t in jeopardy after they took a two-game lead with a 24-21 win against the Houston Texans last week. Instead, it’s the race for the No. 1 spot in the conference that has Jacksonville’s attention. That seed currently belongs to the Baltimore Ravens, who are on bye in Week 13.
With the Jaguars sitting at home, here are the five results that Jacksonville fans should hope to see Sunday:
Packers to beat the Chiefs (8:20 p.m. ET)
The defending Super Bowl champs have the same 8-3 record as the Jaguars, but also have a Week 2 win at EverBank Stadium in their back pocket. If Jacksonville wants any chance at a first-round bye, the Chiefs have to lose at least once.
Despite wins in three of the last four weeks, including a Thanksgiving upset of the Lions, the Packers are six-point home underdogs in the Sunday Night Football matchup against the Chiefs.
Green Bay could do the Jaguars a big favor by pulling off another upset.
Commanders to beat the Dolphins (1 p.m. ET)
The Dolphins are another team with an 8-3 record, but they’re less worrisome for the Jaguars than the Chiefs for a couple reasons:
- Jacksonville currently owns the tiebreaker.
- Miami ends the year with a three-week gauntlet against the Cowboys, Ravens, and Bills.
Still, they’d be even less worrisome if the rudderless Commanders snapped their three-game losing streak with an upset of the Dolphins.
Titans to beat the Colts (1 p.m. ET)
Rooting for the Titans in this case is sort of like eating your veggies as a kid. If you can stomach the taste, it’s good for you in the long run.
At 4-7, Tennessee would need a miracle to catch up to the Jaguars in the last month of the season. So the Titans winning Sunday wouldn’t do much of anything to threaten Jacksonville, but it would push the Colts back down to .500.
The AFC South race doesn’t look like much of a race at all. The more Indianapolis and Houston lose, the faster the Jaguars could clinch the division title.
Broncos to beat the Texans (1 p.m. ET)
The Jaguars should want the Broncos to win Sunday for all the same reasons they should hope the Titans win.
The only downside is that Denver is 6-5 after stringing together five consecutive wins. In a doomsday scenario where the Jaguars don’t win the AFC South, it’d be nice to have a wild card berth available as a backup plan. The Broncos are well on their way to securing one of those spots.
But if Denver beats Houston, the Jaguars will also be one step closer to that not mattering a bit.
Rams to beat the Browns (4:25 p.m. ET)
Picture this for a second. The Jaguars travel to chilly Cleveland next weekend and are handed a disappointing loss from the defensive-minded Browns. A week after that, Jacksonville bounces back with a primetime win against the Ravens.
Just like that, Cleveland — which is currently 7-4 — could be the team at the top of the AFC North standings and have a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Jaguars to boot.
Of course, Jacksonville can avoid all that by simply winning in Cleveland next week. But a Rams win against the Joe Flacco-led Browns would knock another AFC contender down a notch.
