It has been a much-maligned start to the season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, to say the least.
After having a well-received draft that was highlighted by the selections of wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson, the hype train surrounding the team has lost a lot of momentum. The reason for that, of course, is a recent series of controversial moves on the front office’s part.
One of those controversial moves was trading defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings. The second was releasing former 2017 No. 4 overall pick Leonard Fournette, who ended up with the Jags’ in-state rivals in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A less-glamorous third transaction came in the form of trading starting safety Ronnie Harrison to the Cleveland Browns a few days after.
Those moves did not instill any hope in the Jags fans and it apparently hasn’t done the same to the sportsbooks either. The Cardiac Cats will open as a 7.5-point underdog in their season-opening matchup against their divisional rivals in the Indianapolis Colts, according to BetMGM.
When looking at last season’s series, the Jaguars and the Colts split their season matchups with the Jaguars winning the last meeting by the score of 38-20. The Colts beat them handily over a month before by a score of 33-13. As for their all-time record against Indy, it isn’t pretty as the Jags will enter Week 1 with a 14-24 overall record versus the Colts.
The Jags are also a +310 underdog on the money line meaning that a $100 bet on the Jaguars to win will net a $310 winning plus the original bet amount.
Time will tell if this the first of many underdog bets in the Jags 2020 season.
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