New York Jets (3-10) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4)
Sunday, December 14, 1:00 PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars probably can’t believe their luck at this time of year. Obviously, this is a team that showed in the 2025 offseason that they believed they could compete, even in the first year of a new era with GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen.
Gladstone made a bold move to trade up in the draft for Travis Hunter, which ultimately we have yet to see the return on that investment because Hunter is hurt, but the trade up itself was a bold signal that Gladstone felt like his team could compete.
And, to his credit, and the credit of Liam Coen, this Jags team has done more than compete. They have taken hold of the top spot in the AFC South, and a matchup against the New York Jets is really going to set them up for their 10th win of the season rather easily.
The Jets have been competitive despite their 10 losses this year, but with more health issues at the quarterback position (both Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor are hurt), it’s really difficult to see them being overly competitive in this game.
Jacksonville is a 12.5-point favorite at home in this one, and frankly, that feels like a bit of a low estimate. What we’ve seen from the Jaguars, at times this season, is playing “down” to the opponent. We’ve also seen them play “up” to better opponents, to be fair, but it took them overtime to beat both the Raiders and Cardinals.
Jacksonville is a really fascinating team right now. It feels like nobody is really talking about them at all because the Texans are making so much noise, and the Colts just lost Daniel Jones for the season. Quietly, the Jaguars might have been the best team in the AFC South all along.
Prediction: Jaguars win 28-10