The Jacksonville Jaguars are first place in the AFC South with two weeks left and a Week 18 matchup against the Tennessee Titans is now guaranteed to decide the division winner.
That was decided in Week 16 when Tennessee dropped to 7-8 on the year with a 19-14 loss to the Houston Texans. The division standings after Saturday look like this:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 7-8
- Tennessee Titans: 7-8
- Indianapolis Colts: 4-9-1
- Houston Texans: 2-12-1
The Jaguars currently own the tiebreaker at the top of the division by way of a 36-22 win over the Titans in Week 14. However, Tennessee has a 3-2 record in AFC South play while the Jaguars are 2-2.
If Jacksonville wins in Week 18, it’ll own the tiebreaker via a season sweep. If Tennessee wins, it’ll own the tiebreaker via a 4-2 division record.
With a Week 18 duel guaranteed to decide the division, it could make sense for the Jaguars to rest their starters during a Week 17 game against the Texans. However, there’s still a long shot scenario where Jacksonville could earn a wild card berth even after losing to the Titans in their season finale.