5 Observations on the Jaguars' 2024 Schedule

What do we make of the Jaguars' 2024 schedule?

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) celebrates with teammates after setting the Jaguars / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY

The Jacksonville Jaguars now know what their future holds.

The Jaguars have known who their 2024 opponents are for some time, but the schedule hardly feels real until the official order of games is out.

And now that it is, we can see just how tough of a test the Jaguars have been given by the NFL.

So, what do we make of the Jaguars' schedule? We break it down below.

1) Jaguars' first month will be a true test

The Jaguars don't have a tougher stretch than their first four games. They play four 2023 playoff teams in the form of the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and the Houston Texans. To add onto the difficulty of the first month of the season, three of these games are on the road and one is against a team coming off a 10 days rest (Buffalo),

The first four games of a season never makes or breaks a team. The Jaguars could start 1-3 in this stretch and still have a chance to turn things around. As their late-season collapse last year showed us, there is really no point in counting your chickens before they hatch in September. But if the Jaguars hold their own and show their mettle during this stretch, we could learn a lot about them.

2) Jaguars could go into Week 17 and 18 fighting for their AFC South life again

The last two years have seen the Jaguars go into live-or-die games against the Tennessee Titans in Week 18. In 2022, it was a home game for the AFC South crown. In 2023, they saw their season and playoff hopes go up in smoke in Nashville. And if the AFC South is as competitive in 2024 as it looks on paper, the Jaguars could go into the final weeks again needing to go 12 rounds against AFC South rivals.

This time, the Jaguars would have the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18. The Jaguars have mostly had success against the Colts in recent years, going 4-2 during the Trevor Lawrence era and 3-1 during the Doug Pederson regime. But the Colts very well could be fighting for the same thing in Week 18 if all goes right, making this season finale one to keep eyes on.

3) Jaguars luck out with London schedule

The Jaguars' luck in London varies by year. Sometimes they get lucky breaks, and sometimes they get shafted. Consider 2024 the former considering the Jaguars opponents are officially the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. The Jaguars got similar luck in 2023 by drawing the Atlanta Falcons, which means three of the Jaguars' four most recent London opponents will be teams without veteran quarterbacks.

The Jaguars will face a talented and potential playoff team in the Bears, but it will also be Caleb Williams' first start. The Bears are a young team led by a young head coach and a young quarterback, and that means something in London. The same theory applies to the Patriots in Week 7 considering they will be fielding their own rookie quarterback and rookie head coach.

4) Late-season collapse doesn't ruin prime time momentum

The most recent impression the country has about the Jaguars isn't exactly a rosy picture. The Jaguars suffered through the NFL's worst collapse of 2024 and it was, frankly, one of the worst collapses of any team in recent memory. If the Jaguars were punished for this by the NFL in terms of scheduling, it hardly would have been a surprise.

Instead, the Jaguars will make appearances on Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football in consecutive years. After their long stretch with zero non-Thursday Night prime time games, the Jaguars got off fairly easy with their prime time schedule this year, even if both games are on the road.

5) Latest bye week in franchise history comes before season's most critical stretch

Week 12 is set to officially be the latest bye week in franchise history, but this could actually work in the Jaguars' favors. Yes, they will be making their two-week London trip without any time off; and yes, they will go through some of their toughest stretches before Week 12. But when looking at the Jaguars' schedule, there are some advantages.

For one, the Jaguars have 66.67% of their divisional games after the bye week. Four of their last six games are AFC South battles, which means the Jaguars will go into arguably their most critical stretch fresh off a bye week. A road trip to Las Vegas and a home test against the Jets comes between the games, too, so this bye week seems to be just right.