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The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2023 season with an incredible amount of hope after a phenomenal 2022 campaign that saw the team rebound from a 2-6 start to finish 7-2 (9-8 overall), win the AFC South and even reach the AFC Divisional Round. It was a remarkable year for a team that had gone just 3-14 the year before largely under Urban Meyer, whose controversial tenure lasted just 13 games before his firing.
Jacksonville looked like it would roll to the playoffs after starting 8-3, but everything fell apart from there en route to a 1-5 finish. A 9-8 record wasn't good enough this time around with the Houston Texans hitting 10 wins to take the division.
The Jags' defense notably stumbled down the stretch, and changes went down after the season, with head coach Doug Pederson replacing defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell with Ryan Nielsen.
Jacksonville also retained some key talent (e.g. signing star edge-rusher Josh Allen to a long-term deal) while letting others leave in free agency (e.g. wide receiver Calvin Ridley to the Tennessee Titans). Other additions included wide receiver Gabe Davis and offensive lineman Mitch Morse from the Buffalo Bills.
The most interesting addition, however, was quarterback Mac Jones, acquired via trade from the New England Patriots. Jones, who fell out of favor in New England, now gets a fresh start in Jacksonville. He'll be the backup to star signal-caller Trevor Lawrence but is a great backup option if QB1 has to miss any time.
Speaking of Lawrence, he's the one to watch here. Lawrence entered the NFL with a tremendous amount of hype and potential, and that's been realized at times during his three-year pro tenure. While he's clearly in one of the better quarterbacks in the league, he hasn't hit the top tier (or second tier) of league signal-callers just yet. There's still time for that to change, of course, perhaps as soon as 2024.
He and the rest of the Jags have a tough schedule to navigate, though. And with that, here's a look at the slate, alongside some analysis and notes on pivotal matchups.
2024 Jaguars Schedule
Analysis
Simply put, this is a very tough schedule on paper.
First, the Jaguars are on the short end of the home-away stick this year, playing just seven games in Jacksonville, one in London (as the host) and nine away.
The road games look tough on paper, with six of their nine games against teams that finished last year with winning records.
But one of those losing teams is the Chicago Bears, who by all accounts look like a much-improved team after some great offseason additions (e.g. Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen).
And another one is the Las Vegas Raiders, who went 8-9 but finished strong under interim (now full-time) head coach Antonio Pierce.
The home slate only has four winning teams, but let's take a deeper look. The 7-10 New York Jets will get Aaron Rodgers back after he missed nearly all of last season with a ruptured Achilles. The 7-10 Minnesota Vikings get superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who missed seven games last year due to injury, back into the mix full time.
Overall, the Jags' schedule is filled with strong teams or teams that look like they're in position to improve. And with the Jags playing two more games outside Jacksonville than in it this year, the 2024 campaign may not be all that kind to the team.
Pivotal Matchups
Houston Texans (Home and Away)
Not only are the Houston Texans the clear AFC South favorites, but they're darkhorse Super Bowl contenders as well. The road to the division title looks like it's going through Houston, making the Jags' games against the Texans more pivotal than usual.
Houston and Jacksonville split their games last year. If the Jags swept the Texans, they would have made the playoffs. Alas, that did not happen, and Houston completed an incredible seven-win improvement from the year before.
The Texans have improved even from last year, notably adding wide receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive end Danielle Hunter to the team. And they have the reigning Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year in quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge-rusher Will Anderson. It's a tough team to beat on paper, but the Jags will likely have to find a way to get it done to win the division again.
Detroit Lions
There's arguably no greater litmus test on the Jags' 2024 schedule than the Detroit Lions, who were tantalizingly close to winning the NFC before blowing a 24-7 halftime lead to the San Francisco 49ers en route to a 34-31 loss.
Detroit returns a bunch of its offensive talent and reloaded on defense through the draft, so it's looking likely that the team will be one to beat in the NFC once again. The Lions went 12-5 last year, and an even better record could be awaiting them in 2024. It also simply wouldn't be a surprise to see Detroit raising the Lombardi Trophy at year's end.
So where does this leave the Jags? A road win against the Lions would be a massive boost to the team's confidence. This game looks like the toughest on the Jaguars' slate (road games at the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills state their cases as well), and if Jacksonville is to take a big step forward, then the team needs to show its meddle in challenging games such as his.
This is also a revenge matchup for Jacksonville, which lost 40-14 to the Lions in Detroit in 2022.
