Why Colin Cowherd Believes the Jaguars Will Be the AFC’s No. 1 Seed in 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the NFL world in 2022, claiming the top seed in the NFC, and appearing in their second Super Bowl since winning it all in 2018.
Can the Jacksonville Jaguars be the next surprise contender for the top seed in a loaded AFC conference? Colin Cowherd certainly thinks so, drawing parallels to the aforementioned Eagles squad in his reasoning.
“For Jacksonville, you get Doug Pederson [Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson],” Cowherd said on Friday’s episode of ‘The Herd.’ “These free agents now in year two are all baked in. Jacksonville reminds me of Philadelphia last year. The head coach for the Eagles and these Jags is in year two. The young, promising quarterback for those Eagles and these Jags is in year three. Both were a surprise playoff team. The Jags last year and the Eagles the year before last year and both get an easy schedule. The Jags this year and the Eagles last year.”
Cowherd frequently mentioned the importance of scheduling in favor of Jacksonville, which he believes ranks among the easiest in the league.
“The Jacksonville Jaguars got a schedule break,” Cowherd said. “ So they only face four elite quarterbacks and we knew this. Three at home, and one in a neutral field but they got them all spaced out. They face Mahomes [Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes] at home, Week 2. And they don’t have to face Josh Allen [Bills quarterback Josh Allen] until October, Week 5. Then they don’t have to face Burrow [Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow] at home, Week 12. And then later it’s at home again. They get Lamar Jackson [Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson]. It all got spaced out. In the other 13 games, they have a decided quarterback advantage.
These reasons led Cowherd to proclaim what he didn’t last year with the Philadelphia Eagles, that Jacksonville will emerge from the depths and surprise many in the 2023 season.
“The Jags are going to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC,” Cowherd proclaimed.
