Why Nick Wright Thinks the Jaguars Are in a Better Position Than the Bills In AFC
Since the rise of Josh Allen as a top-five NFL quarterback, the Buffalo Bills have been mentioned among the top AFC contenders on an annual basis along with the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals and reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs.
While this has arguably been the top three in the AFC pecking order the past several seasons, First Things First host Nick Wright believes a new team has emerged in a better position to contend this year over Buffalo; The Jacksonville Jaguars.
“There is no reason whatsoever to believe in Buffalo more than Jacksonville,” Wright proclaimed on June 5th’s episode of First Take. Brou [NFL Analyst Chris Broussard] you already said the key point. This year, the Jags are basically in the best division possible to be in and Buffalo is in a hellacious division as far to be in.”
In addition to the division debate, Wright argued that the second half of each team’s season last year and overall talent arguably puts them in the same company as one another.
“After their bye, they were both excellent,” Wright added. “Did they both win their division? Yes. Do they both have a Pro Bowl quarterback? Yes. How’d they do in the playoffs? Both won one and lost one. The Bills actually got dominated in their playoff game and of course, they got no royalty on the roster. However, let's talk about how they looked at the end of the season. With the Bills, the Bills in their first playoff game escaped Skylar Thompson [Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson] by the skin of their teeth and then got dog walked by the Bengals. The Jaguars in their first playoff game had the fourth-largest comeback in the history of the playoffs.”
Wright would go on to further cement his claim by addressing the Jaguars-Chiefs matchup in the AFC Divisional Round, in which Jacksonville kept the deficit to a single score for most of the contest before ultimately losing 27-17.
With key additions in the offseason and another year of development for players and coaches already on the roster, it is no surprise that the Jaguars are among the teams mentioned to make a giant leap in the AFC this season.
2023 represents the optimal time for Jacksonville to do so.
