Segment Spotlight: Quick Hits From Pushing The Odds with Matt Perrault
\nJacksonville\u2019s AFC Contender Status Hinges on Trevor Lawrence and a Favorable Schedule<\/p>\n
Jacksonville\u2019s 12th consecutive home win over Indianapolis raised a larger question: Are the Jaguars legitimate AFC contenders, or has a favorable schedule helped them get off to a fast start?<\/p>\n
The Jaguars belong in the contender conversation, but their outlook can change significantly from week to week. Losing Devon Hamilton to injury was a major blow to an elite run defense. Jacksonville\u2019s pass defense remains vulnerable and has allowed plenty of yards, making defensive help a potential priority. Grover Stewart was mentioned as a possible trade target from Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville\u2019s ceiling may ultimately depend on which version of Trevor Lawrence appears each week. He has played more recklessly and has not performed as well as he did last season. Liam Cohen\u2019s system has helped cover some of those issues, although his play-calling and red-zone decisions can also be questionable at times.<\/p>\n
If Lawrence and the Jaguars get hot, they could easily enter the discussion as one of the AFC\u2019s top three to five teams. On other weeks, however, they can look more like pretenders than contenders.<\/p>\n
The schedule has helped Jacksonville and could continue to do so, with upcoming games against the Ravens, Titans, Giants and Bears. The more revealing stretch will come against the Bears, Steelers, Texans and Cowboys. Dominant performances in those games would make Jacksonville\u2019s case much easier to believe.<\/p>\n
At 5-2, the Jaguars have scored 196 points and allowed 111. They also hold a three-game division lead and have four games they should win, creating a possible path to a 9-2 record.<\/p>\n
That possibility makes Jacksonville\u2019s current Super Bowl odds worth monitoring. If the Jaguars complete that run, those odds could be cut in half. Their path to the AFC Championship Game becomes more realistic if they secure the conference\u2019s top seed and avoid traveling to Kansas City, Denver or another cold-weather location. Playing postseason games at home in Florida could give them a chance to reach Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Buffalo appears to be Jacksonville\u2019s biggest competition for the top seed. The Bills have upcoming games against the Vikings, Jets and Dolphins before facing the Chiefs, Patriots, Packers and Bears. If Buffalo drops several games during that stretch while Jacksonville keeps winning, the odds could move further in the Jaguars\u2019 favor. Based on those schedules, the argument is that now may be the time to consider a Jacksonville Super Bowl futures bet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Segment Spotlight: Quick Hits From Pushing The Odds with Matt Perrault Jacksonville\u2019s AFC Contender Status Hinges on Trevor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20483,47637,27027,43471,31475,22207,173839,173833,173831,173836,173832,173837,173830,173834,173835,173838,116,351,118,121,117,26852,173829,119,173826,16890,173822,173825,173821,173827,51753,35484,173823,173824,173828,173820,80360,110,5775,5011],"class_list":["post-446934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-afc","tag-afc-east","tag-afc-south","tag-best-bets","tag-betting-odds","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-buffalo-ny","tag-football-best-bets","tag-football-betting","tag-football-futures","tag-football-futures-odds","tag-football-mvp","tag-football-playoffs","tag-football-postseason","tag-football-postseason-odds","tag-football-roy","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-fl","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-josh-allen","tag-most-valuable-player","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-best-bet","tag-nfl-betting","tag-nfl-betting-odds","tag-nfl-futures","tag-nfl-futures-odds","tag-nfl-mvp","tag-nfl-odds","tag-nfl-playoffs","tag-nfl-postseason","tag-nfl-postseason-odds","tag-nfl-roy","tag-nfl-super-bowl-odds","tag-rookie-of-the-year","tag-sports","tag-sports-betting","tag-trevor-lawrence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}