The Jacksonville Jaguars dropped to 3-7 on Sunday with a relatively respectable, but still frustrating 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Making matters worse for the Jaguars is that both the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts won in Week 10.
With eight weeks left in the 2022 season, the Jaguars are 3.5 games behind the 6-3 Titans and a game and change behind the 4-5-1 Colts.
After a Week 11 bye, the Jaguars will have seven games to try and track down a spot in the postseason. According to the New York Times’ playoff simulator, there’s only a four percent chance of that actually coming to fruition.
For one, the Jaguars would have to win at least six of their last seven games to finish above .500 this year. Just three teams — the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, 2014 Carolina Panthers, and 2020 Washington Football Team — have earned a playoff spot with a losing record.
Is it possible? Here’s the Jaguars’ schedule for the remainder of the season:
- Week 12: Nov. 27 vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Week 13: Dec. 4 @ Detroit Lions
- Week 14: Dec. 11 @ Tennessee Titans
- Week 15: Dec. 18 vs. Dallas Cowboys
- Week 16: Dec. 22 @ New York Jets
- Week 17: Jan. 1 @ Houston Texans
- Week 18: Jan. 8 vs. Tennessee Titans
There aren’t many easy victories there. The Texans have the NFL’s worst record, although their only win this year came against the Jaguars. The Lions started the year with a 1-6 record before winning in the last two weeks. Other than those two, the rest of the Jaguars’ schedule is against teams with winning records and four of the seven games are on the road.
The good news, though, is that two games against the Titans offers a chance to make up serious ground. And Tennessee doesn’t have a cake walk the rest of the year either. Here’s the Titans’ schedule the rest of the way:
- Week 11: Nov. 17 @ Green Bay Packers
- Week 12: Nov. 27 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 13: Dec. 4 @ Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 14: Dec. 11 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 15: Dec. 18 @ Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 16: Dec. 24 vs. Houston Texans
- Week 17: Dec. 29 vs. Dallas Cowboys
- Week 18: Jan. 8 @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s road to a playoff berth relies on the Titans dropping at least four or five of their remaining games.
It’s unlikely, but a good first step would be Tennessee dropping one of its more winnable matchups when it plays the Packers on Thursday night.
