JACKSONVILLE – These are the fun ones.
They’re also important ones – in part because all NFL games are important and in larger part because the Jaguars’ home game against the San Francisco 49ers has a decided big-game feel.
It’s a November matchup of division leaders, with the Jaguars leading the AFC South by two games coming off an early November bye and the 49ers after the same bye tied for first place in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks.
Prove-it game? Statement game?
Not as Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson sees it.
“We’ve got a great football team coming in here on Sunday and our focus is just on that,” Pederson said.
Fair point: The Jaguars have won 11 of 13 regular-season games and currently have an NFL-best five-game winning streak. They won the AFC South last season. They also have beaten four 2022 postseason teams during that 13-game span, and three of their victories this season have been over teams that currently have winning records.
The Jaguars no longer must “prove” they’re a good team.
Still, Sunday is a chance for the Jaguars to register a second victory this season over a defending division champion. They are 1-1 in such games this season, losing at home to the defending AFC West Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 and beating the defending AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in Week 5.
Perhaps more importantly, it’s also a chance for the Jaguars to ensure they remain at least two games ahead of an improved, confident Houston Texans team in the chase for the AFC South – and to further establish themselves as a division favorite.
Here are 10 things the Jaguars must do to do that:
- Protect the ball … The Jaguars have been very good in multiple areas this season, which is why they have their best record through eight games since 1999. Perhaps most remarkable about their five-game winning streak is their…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…