The month of December was a disaster for the Jacksonville Jaguars, regardless of the team’s flawless dismount on New Year’s Eve.
How many teams are actually playing consistently great football heading into the playoffs, though?
In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens have turned into an absolute steamroller — beating the Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins by a combined 67 points in the last three weeks. But after the Ravens, who else is there looking like a real Super Bowl contender?
The Dolphins have looked the part, at times. They’ve also put up a 1-4 record in their five games against teams with winning records, and were throughly smashed by the Ravens on Sunday.
If ever there was a year ripe for an unexpected team to string together a couple wins and be a surprise contender, this sure looks like the one.
The Jaguars will need to do more than blow out the Carolina Panthers to convince anyone that they’re really back. But why not Jacksonville? The team is a win against the Tennessee Titans from securing another AFC South title. After that, it’s anyone’s guess what happens next.
With just one week of regular season action left, here’s how all 32 teams stack up: