American Football
It’s time to take the Jacksonville Jaguars seriously as Super Bowl contenders
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There was a time this season when the Jacksonville Jaguars' revival felt like a fun subplot rather than a main event. Not anymore. Winning in Denver in December has a habit of clarifying things, and the Jaguars’ Week 16 victory at Mile High did exactly that.
The Broncos came in on an 11-game winning streak, the hottest team in the AFC, and left with it snapped by a Jacksonville side that now sits 11-4 with two games to play. This is no longer a cute story. This is substance.
The Broncos scalp joins a growing collection that demands attention. Jacksonville have beaten Houston in a division statement game, outlasted San Francisco in a bruising, playoff-level contest, out-thought Kansas City in a primetime win that announced their intent to the league, and edged the Los Angeles Chargers in a game that required nerve as much as talent.
Add Denver to that list, and you have an NFL résumé that resonates.
The context is impossible to ignore. Twelve months ago, the Jaguars finished 4-13, a team drifting without identity, confidence or answers. Now they are on course for their best season in two decades, having already secured a winning record and with the AFC’s top seeds very much in view. Turnarounds happen in the NFL, but this one has been emphatic.
The catalyst has been Liam Coen. Appointed with more hope than certainty, Coen has done what the best modern head coaches do: simplified without dumbing down and demanded accountability without strangling creativity.
Offensively, the Jaguars are structured rather than rigid. There’s clarity in their sequencing, balance in their play calling and, crucially, an understanding of who their quarterback is rather than who he was once projected to be. Coen has leaned into efficiency and rhythm, letting Jacksonville dictate terms rather than chase big plays out of desperation.
The most striking change, though, has come on the other side of the ball. Jacksonville’s defence has gone from liability to tone-setter. They are faster, more disciplined and far more situationally aware, getting off the field on third down and closing games rather than merely surviving them.
Against Denver, they absorbed pressure early, adjusted at halftime, and squeezed the life out of an offense that had been steamrolling everyone else of late. That ability to adapt mid-game is the clearest sign of a well-coached team.
And then there is Trevor Lawrence. For years, the conversation around the former No.1 pick revolved around what he wasn’t doing rather than what he could. Too many turnovers, too many forced throws, too many moments where the weight of expectation seemed to sit heavy. Over the last four games, that narrative has flipped. Twelve touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a quarterback finally playing within himself without shrinking.
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