Why Jaguars Can't Lean Into "Nobody Believes in Us" Anymore

Disrespect fueled the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC South title. They'll have to find a new source of inspiration now.

The video scoreboard reflects the Jacksonville Jaguars as the AFC South Champions after the game of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 41-7, capturing the AFC South title. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans are no strangers to disrespect and doubt. It's where they're the most comfortable. It took a long time before the rest of the NFL started paying any attention to what the team in Duval was doing this past season. Ultimately, they closed the campaign with eight straight wins to clinch the AFC South division and the No. 3 seed in the conference.

It wasn't until after the halfway point in that streak that the outside media started to think that the Jaguars could be real contenders this season. By that time, it was too late for Head Coach Liam Coen and his players. They had felt the disrespect all season, embraced it, and wouldn't accept any belated apologies. They got them anyway.

Sep 23, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) signals for a first down against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Who's really the underdog in Jaguars vs. Bills?

For their efforts to win the division and lock up homefield advantage in the first round, the Jacksonville Jaguars were rewarded with a matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Not many would call that a favorable draw. The Jags might have been the better team on paper all season long, but the Bills have the edge in star power and experience.

Because of that, Buffalo opened as the slight favorite on the road. If Head Coach Liam Coen was looking for more bulletin board material for his guys, he found it in the betting odds. However, the Jaguars are getting the respect they deserve now from other sources, almost to an uncomfortable extent. All five members of NFL.com's panel of editors picked Jacksonville to advance, with Brooke Cersosimo predicting a narrow 32-30 victory:

history of the bills/jaguars rivalry pic.twitter.com/BgDpb5EoK3

— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) January 8, 2026

"Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football of his career under first-year head coach Liam Coen, finishing third in the league with 38 offensive TDs... He'll need his supporting cast to show up against the Bills' top-ranked pass defense, and the Jaguars' run game must rediscover its early-season form. That's where Coen's offense can have a significant edge over Sean McDermott's D... Defensively, the Jags have been quite solid, forcing the second-most turnovers this season and boasting the league's best run D. That unit will have its hands full with this year's rushing champion, James Cook."

"Right now, the Jaguars are the better team. However, this game could completely tilt on its head because of one person: Bills quarterback Josh Allen... There is one very big X-factor in this one: Jaguars K Cam Little. This season, he made the TWO longest field goals in NFL history, and let it be known that no player in playoff history has made a field goal of 60-plus yards... I, for one, expect the kicker to be a big part of any Jags success this postseason — beginning with a game-winning boot on Sunday."

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