ESPN's Seth Walderwent through a simulation for the 2026 NFL season, and things turned out well for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
ESPN's Football Power Index ran thousands of simulations to build out projections for the upcoming season. Walder, however, examined just one of those simulations -- No. 9,187, to be exact.
In this simulation, the Jaguars won the AFC South for the second consecutive season. The strong foundation that was laid during the second half of 2025 proved to be a launching pad for Jacksonville in this scenario, as they were able to get off to a hot start.
"Jacksonville came out of the gates hot, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence picking up right where he left off in 2025," wrote Walder. "The Jaguars started the season 7-2 and pulled
away after Houston imploded, clinching the division by Week 16. The Jaguars lost their final two games to finish 10-7 but safely made the playoffs as the No. 3 seed."
The Jaguars finished last season on an eight-game winning streak. The offense, led by Trevor Lawrence, was one of the most productive in football, while the defense was among the stingiest.
The continuity of being in the same offensive and defensive systems for a second season can be the catalyst behind this team taking another step forward in 2026.
Unfortunately, in this simulation, the Jaguars ' regular-season success didn't carry over into the postseason. Facing the Colts in the AFC wildcard round, Indianapolis defeated Jacksonville by a score of 18-12.
"The Colts got into the playoffs by beating a Jaguars team that was resting its starters in Week 18 and repeated the feat against Jacksonville's A-team, shutting down Lawrence and the Jags' offense to win 18-12," wrote Walder.
Despite the outcome in the playoffs, this would be the first time since 1999 that the Jaguars made the postseason in back-to-back years.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars reach playoffs but have disappointing ending in simulated season
