On November 24th, 1996, the Jacksonville Jaguars were in their second year of existence and were faced with a 4-7 record. The teams playoff hopes looked bleak. However, Mike Hollis would kick a game winning field goal in overtime to give the Jaguars a 28-25 win at Baltimore against the Ravens. The win put the Jags at 5-7, and propelled the team to win their last four games and make the playoffs.

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Sound familiar?

On Sunday, the Jaguars were 2-6, and the season looked lost after losses in consecutive weeks to Matt Hasselbeck, Jameis Winston, and Brian Hoyer. The Jaguars were visiting M&T Bank Stadium for another date with the Ravens. Though Blake Bortles played his worst game of the season, and despite the Jaguars not taking advantage of four Ravens turnovers, Jason Myers kicked the game winning 53 yard field goal to give the Jaguars the win.

Of course, this penalty helped.



In the team’s remaining seven games, the Jags will face one with a winning record in the Atlanta Falcons. And the Falcons have lost to the Buccaneers and the lowly 49ers, who were starting Blaine Gabbert.

The current division leaders, the Indianapolis Colts, will be without quarterback Andrew Luck for an extended period of time. Although Luck has been a turnover machine, and Hasselbeck won both starts as a starter, there is no doubt the team is better with Luck in the lineup. The Jaguars should have beat the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 4 had it not been for Jason Myers missing two attempts at a game-winning field goal.

The Jaguars will get their rematch in Jacksonville on December 13th. Whether Luck plays or not remains to be seen, but this matchup will have much bigger implications than their previous encounter.

The Houston Texans upset the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. The win put the Texans tied with the Colts, though the Colts have the head to head matchup. Despite the win, the team is now down to their third string quarterback in T.J. Yates, and they still have stiff match-ups against the Jets, Bills, and Patriots. They also have to play a high powered Saints offense, as well as their remaining division games against the Jags and Colts.

Though the Texans proved they are a legitimate threat in the AFC South with J.J. Watt and the defense, I don’t believe in Yates or Brian Hoyer if he returns.

On offense, Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson, and Allen Hurns are breaking Jaguar records. Bortles is on pace to finish with 34 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards. The Allen Brothers will both exceed 1,000 yards receiving and score 10 plus touchdowns. The trio are the key to the Jaguars winning the AFC South.

The only concern that would hinder the Jaguars AFC South chances is the defense. The team is without a pass rush and just lost Sen’Derrick Marks to the season with a torn tricep according to Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com.

If the Jaguars are going to win the AFC South, the offense will need to score three or four touchdowns a game.

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The Jaguars will be back in action Thursday night at EverBank Field where they will square off against the Tennessee Titans. If the Jaguars are going to go on a streak and win the AFC South, it will start on Thursday Night Football on the NFL Network.