Now that the AFC South is once again taking on that funky aroma of a division that can be won with a .500 record or worse, the Jaguars are a candidate to win it.
The Jaguars (5-8) moved just one game behind the Colts and Texans, both 6-7, after humiliating the Colts 51-16 Sunday in Jacksonville.
Blake Bortles has put together the best two-game stretch of his young career. He’s thrown eight touchdown passes with no interceptions. He threw five in the Jags’ 42-39 loss at Tennessee in Week 12 and three on Sunday.
Bortles is far from a finished product. He’s thrown 13 interceptions this season, but the Jaguars have their quarterback of the future. Meanwhile, the Colts and Texans were going with retreads and both of them could be sitting out when they clash Sunday at Indianapolis.
That pivotal division game could be a matchup between Charlie Whitehurst and T.J. Yates. Brian Hoyer suffered another concussion in the Texans’ 27-6 loss to the Patriots Sunday night. Matt Hasselbeck injured his ribs at Jacksonville Sunday, according to Colts.com, and the Colts can’t count on having Andrew Luck back.
#Texans QB Brian Hoyer did suffer another concussion last night, source said. He goes in the protocol, the team prepares TJ Yates to start
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 14, 2015
Bortles completed passes to nine different receivers Sunday. Tight end Julius Thomas led the way with five receptions and Allen Hurns, who sat out last week with a thigh injury, was the leader in receiving yards with 105 on three catches. His 80-yard touchdown catch gave the Jags a 16-13 lead early in the third quarter, and Jacksonville took off from there.
Only three teams have scored 90 points in back-to-back games: Patriots, Cardinals and @Jaguars. Not too bad. (via @STATS_NFL)
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) December 14, 2015
Hurns had touchdown catches in seven straight games at one point this season. He and Allen Robinson form a dangerous receiving tandem. Among receivers who have caught 50 passes this season, Hurns is second in the league with 16.9 yards per reception and Robinson is third with 16.4
The Jaguars have been inconsistent on defense, but 13 of the 16 turnovers they’ve forced have come in the last seven games beginning with their 34-31 comeback win over the Bills in London.
While opponents’ rushing yards have ranged from 29 to 210, the Jaguars are third in the league with 3.6 yards allowed per rush and they’ve faced the sixth-most rushing attempts.
The Jaguars host Atlanta Sunday. The Falcons have lost six in a row. Then the Jaguars hit the road to finish the season, playing at New Orleans and at Houston. None of their remaining opponents have a winning record.
Even if they win all of those games, the Jaguars only have a 31 percent chance of winning the division, according to MakeNFLPlayoffs.com. One more loss drops their chances to 8 percent and two more losses eliminates them.
The Texans were the darlings of this division when they won four in a row, but they’ve lost two straight since then. The Jaguars need a lot of events to fall their way to win the AFC South, but right now they own the momentum.