3. Jacksonville Jaguars
This would have seemed laughable one year ago. Heck, it would have seemed laughable 3 months ago.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were blown out by the Detroit Lions 40-14 in Week 13 which dropped them to 4-8 on the year. They looked vastly improved upon what we saw when Urban Meyer was the coach — which was really awful — but they still weren’t talented enough to win against good teams.
But then, something clicked. They were able to knock off the Tennessee Titans 36-22 and shocked the Dallas Cowboys with a 17-point comeback win in overtime. That 40-34 win catapulted them up the leaderboard in their division and they finished the year with wins over the Jets, the Texans, and the Titans.
That five-game winning streak meant they finished 9-8 and won the AFC South. They weren’t just a feel-good story either as they overcame a 27-0 hole against the Los Angeles Chargers to secure a win in the Wild Card Round. They then headed to Kansas City and fought back from a 20-10 deficit to make it a close contest. They lost 27-20 but still earned a lot of respect.
Heading into the offseason, they now have a Super Bowl-winning coach in Doug Pederson and a very confident quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. Should they make a few moves in free agency and hit on their draft picks, they could wind up giving Kansas City even more problems in 2023.