Jacksonville Jaguars Have One of the Easiest Remaining Schedules This Season
Heading into the final seven weeks of the 2019 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars will luckily catch a bit of a break in terms of the opponents they will draw.
This good fortune comes after Jacksonville faced a plethora of tough teams in the first half of the season, such as the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and the Houston Texans twice.
According to the NFL Media Research Department, Jacksonville has the eighth easiest remaining schedule in terms of opposing team records. The combined record of opposing teams is 29-36, a .446% win rate.
For a 4-5 Jaguars team that needs to win the vast majority of the rest of its games for a chance at the playoffs, this is good news. The toughest teams on Jacksonville's schedule moving forward are the 5-4 Indianapolis Colts (@ Indianapolis in Week 11, @ Jacksonville in Week 17), and the 5-4 Oakland Raiders (@ Raiders in Week 15).
As for the other four games Jacksonville will play in that span of time, the Jaguars will face the 5-5 Tennesee Titans at Tennesee in Week 12, the 3-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Jacksonville in Week 13, the 4-6 Los Angeles Chargers in Jacksonville in Week 14, and the 2-7 Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta in Week 16.
So as of today, only three of the Jaguars' remaining seven opponents have winning records, with three of the teams having records below .500. Jacksonville does not play a team that is currently more than one game over .500, also.
With that said, two of Jacksonville's toughest three remaining games will be on the road. But on the flip side, most of the struggling teams Jacksonville plays over the next seven games will have to travel to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
How does the rest of the AFC South's strength of schedule fare for the remainder of the season?
- Tennesee Titans: Third toughest remaining strength of schedule. Opposing teams have a record of 33-21 (.611% win rate).
- Houston Texans: Ninth toughest remaining strength of schedule. Opposing teams have a record of 36-29 (.554% win rate).
- Indianapolis Colts: 13th toughest remaining strength of schedule. Opposing teams have a record of 34-30 (.531% win rate).
So when you look at how the rest of the AFC South's schedules line up, Jacksonville currently has the easiest remaining schedule by far. This could obviously change week to week, but it is worth noting now.
Another team that is worth talking about as it relates to the Jaguars is the 5-4 Los Angeles Rams. The Jaguars have a vested interest in how the Rams play over the next two seasons since the Jaguars own the Rams' 2020 and 2021 first-round draft selections following the Jalen Ramsey trade.
How tough is the Rams schedule moving forward? Luckily for Jacksonville's offseason fortune, the Rams have one of the toughest remaining stretches.
Los Angeles Rams: Fifth toughest remaining strength of schedule. Opposing teams have a record of 38-26-2 (.591% win rate).
Of course in the NFL, anything can happen. The underdog beats the favored team a fair amount of times, and Week 10 was the perfect example as the Falcons beat a New Orleans Saints team 26-9 despite New Orleans being the home team and entering the game with a 7-1 record.
But for a Jacksonville team that will need the help of other teams to make the playoffs a possibility, and who are also closely watching the results of the Rams, it is at least worth considering the teams slated they are slated to clash with over the final seven weeks of the season.
