Are the Jacksonville Jaguars coming back to earth in 2026 after an incredible run to the playoffs last year?
That's what USA TODAY's Nate Davis argued in his record projections for all 32 teams. In an article published Aug. 5, Davis has the Jags finishing above .500 but missing out on the postseason.
Jacksonville hasn't made the playoffs in consecutive years since the earliest days of the franchise. The four-year run that ended in 1999 with a 14-2 record was far and away the best the Jags had seen before first-year coach Liam Coen led a resurgent Trevor Lawrence and a turnover-hungry defense led by Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd to win the AFC South last year. Even without two-way sensation Travis Hunter for most of the season, the Jaguars went
13-4 with high hopes for 2026.
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There's a lot of key holes that need to be filled this year, though. Lloyd left in free agency, as did running back Travis Etienne. And the looming dominance of the Houston Texans' defense makes Jacksonville repeating its divisional title a daunting task.
"They’re counting on far more production from CB/WR Travis Hunter after what was largely a lost rookie season for the No. 2 pick of the 2025 draft," Davis wrote in explaining his 9-8 prediction for the Jaguars. "They’re banking on largely unproven LB Ventrell Miller and RB Bhayshul Tuten to be worthy in-house replacements, respectively, for departed Lloyd and Etienne, two critical contributors to last year’s charge to the top of the AFC South."
Davis made predictions for all 272 regular-season games to make his projections. He put the Texans at 12-5 and gave them the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
"If a David Montgomery-led backfield can take some of the pressure off QB C.J. Stroud, Houston could achieve the kind of complementary football that will make the Texans awfully hard to beat," Davis said. "Four home games and a neutral-site affair in London in the season’s first seven weeks could portend a strong start."
That London game comes against the Jags, due in part to Jacksonville hosting only six games this season as EverBank Stadium undergoes massive renovations. The team will play its home slate in 2027 in Orlando.
A 9-8 record still puts them in play for a playoff berth. Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated also predicted the Jaguars would finish with that record, but he has them snagging the AFC's final wild-card spot.
"I think the story of this season will be Coen’s aptitude as an evaluator of personnel," Orr wrote. "Clearly, some of Jacksonville’s draft picks and offseason personnel decisions raised eyebrows, but that is so often the case with Coen’s former mentor, Sean McVay, and the Rams’ setup from which Jaguars GM James Gladstone came."
Jaguars preseason schedule 2026
All times Eastern.
- Saturday, Aug. 15: at New Orleans | 4 p.m. | Fox Channel 30
- Friday, Aug. 21: vs. Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | CBS Channel 47
- Friday, Aug. 28: vs. Tampa Bay | 7:30 p.m. | Fox Channel 30
Jaguars schedule 2026
All times Eastern.
- Week 1: vs. Cleveland | 1 p.m. Sept. 13 | CBS
- Week 2: at Denver | 4:05 p.m. Sept. 20 | CBS
- Week 3: vs. New England | 1 p.m. Sept. 27 | CBS
- Week 4: at Cincinnati | 1 p.m. Oct. 4 | CBS
- Week 5: vs. Philadelphia (in London) | 9:30 a.m. Oct. 11 | NFL Network (Fox Channel 30 in Jacksonville)
- Week 6: vs. Houston (in London) | 9:30 a.m. Oct. 18 | NFL Network (Fox Channel 30 in Jacksonville)
- Week 7: Bye
- Week 8: vs. Indianapolis | 1 p.m. Nov. 1 | CBS
- Week 9: at Baltimore | 8:15 p.m. Nov. 5 | Amazon Prime
- Week 10: at Tennessee | 1 p.m. Nov. 15 | Fox
- Week 11: at NY Giants | 1 p.m. Nov. 22 | CBS
- Week 12: vs. Tennessee | 4:05 p.m. Nov. 29 | CBS
- Week 13: at Chicago | 1 p.m. Dec. 6 | Fox
- Week 14: vs. Pittsburgh | 8:15 p.m. Dec. 13 | ESPN
- Week 15: at Houston | 1 p.m. Dec. 20 | CBS
- Week 16: at Dallas | 8:20 p.m. Dec. 27 | NBC
- Week 17: vs. Washington | TBD
- Week 18: at Indianapolis | TBD
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Will Jaguars make playoffs in 2026? This NFL expert has them just shy
