SI:AM | The Jaguars Might Be for Real After Beating Broncos for Sixth Straight Win

Jacksonville has surged into first place in the AFC South and is poised to clinch a rare playoff berth.

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars have won six straight after beating the Broncos in Denver. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I can’t believe the Chiefs are going to go from having made five Super Bowl appearances in six years to starting Chris Oladokun at quarterback in two meaningless games. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
🔥 Jags keep rolling
🎁 The NFL’s gift-giving arms race
🏈 Truth behind CFP blowouts

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Six in a row

The Jaguars are quietly enjoying one of their best seasons in franchise history.

I say “quietly” because the AFC South is probably the most overlooked division in the NFL, and Jacksonville’s recent hot streak has come as the Colts’ decision to lure Philip Rivers out of retirement sucked up all of the division’s narrative oxygen. But the Jags made some serious noise on Sunday with an impressive road win over the AFC-leading Broncos. 

Denver entered the game with the best record in the conference at 12–2, having won 11 in a row. Yet, the Jags took advantage of the Broncos’ mistakes (two turnovers by quarterback Bo Nix and an early missed field goal by Wil Lutz) to come away with a 34–20 victory. 

The Jags know they haven’t been getting much attention from the national media, but they’re just fine with that. 

“We don’t care. We really don’t care about the narrative,” coach Liam Coen said after the win. “I’m sorry to say that, but it’s only helping us. So I want the narrative to keep coming.”

Jacksonville is playing too well right now to be ignored for much longer. Sunday’s win was the team’s sixth in a row, improving its record to 11–4. That’s good for first place in the AFC South (the Texans are second at 10–5), and the Jags can clinch a spot in the playoffs if the Colts lose tonight against the 49ers. It’s the first time Jacksonville has won 11 games in a season since 2007. 

Beating the Broncos was exactly the kind of statement win that the Jags needed with the playoffs looming. Frankly, the reason why the team’s five-game winning streak didn’t garner much attention entering Sunday’s game was that it wasn’t all that impressive. The streak started with a 35–6 blowout win over a good Chargers team, and it continued with wins over the Cardinals and Titans, two of the NFL’s worst teams. The fourth victory in the streak came against the Colts—the game where quarterback Daniel Jones was injured and rookie sixth-round pick Riley Leonard was pressed into action. Last week, the Jags beat the Jets, another bottom dweller.

Those wins rocketed the Jags up the division standings and put them in position to make the playoffs, but Sunday’s win made a convincing case that the Jags could be a threat once they reach the postseason. 

Coen, in his first year as a head coach after serving as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator last season, has the Jaguars’ offense humming. Jacksonville is averaging 27.3 points per game (ranked seventh in the league), compared to 18.8 per game last season (26th). Part of the reason for the turnaround is that quarterback Trevor Lawrence is healthy after missing seven games last season with a shoulder injury and a concussion, but the offense was just as bad last year when Lawrence was at the helm as it was with Mac Jones. Lawrence, five years into his pro career, has started to put it all together. He’s thrown 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, a better ratio than all but one of his previous seasons (2022, when he threw 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions as he was named to the Pro Bowl). And he’s been especially good of late. After throwing three picks in Week 12 against the Cardinals, Lawrence has thrown 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in his last four games. 

The Jags will close the season with two very winnable games: at the Colts and home against the Titans. There’s an outside chance, if the Broncos and Patriots stumble, that Jacksonville could be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It would be impossible for the Jags to be ignored in that case. 

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Matthew Stafford has watched gift giving go to a new level over the time his paychecks have done the same. / Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images; Kelley L Cox/Imagn Images; Lon Horwedel/Imagn Images

• It’s the holiday season around the NFL. Greg Bishop explores the origins of the league's extravagant gift giving in its locker rooms.
• The Jaguars are in contention for the AFC’s top seed in part due to one moment that ignited the team’s six-game winning streak. Albert Breer talks to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers after Jacksonville’s big win in Denver.
• The Patriots showed they are postseason-ready after grinding out a victory in Baltimore. Gilberto Manzano goes inside the Patriots’ fourth-quarter rally that pushed the Ravens to the brink of playoff elimination.
• While he is withholding judgment on Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf’s altercation with a fan until all the facts emerge, Conor Orr argues that the NFL should take one step to prevent these types of instances.
• Jon Wertheim explains how Indiana coach Curt Cignetti led the Hoosiers to unprecedented success while simultaneously providing the school with closure for Bob Knight.
• Tulane and James Madison’s admission to the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket—and subsequent elimination—were unfairly scrutinized while past playoff results were ignored, Pat Forde writes.

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday: 
5. A goal and an assist by Sidney Crosby to break Mario Lemieux’s Penguins franchise points record. 
4. A really tough catch by Panthers rookie sensation Tetairoa McMillan. 
3. Russell Westbrook’s clutch three-pointer to force overtime against the Rockets. (Westbrook’s Kings went on to win in OT.) 
2. Kenneth Gainwell’s preposterous catch after being interfered with by Alex Anzalone. 
1. Ayoub El Kaabi’s outrageous bicycle kick goal for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations.