Jaguars' Chances For No. 1 Seed Suffer Major Blow

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' path to the AFC's No. 1 seed just got much more difficult.

The Jaguars have had a clear path to the No. 1 seed for the last few weeks, but the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots have failed to cooperate. Now, the Jaguars' path has become even tougher.

No. 1 Seed Issues

The scenario in which the Jaguars and head coach Liam Coen earn the conference's top seed is simple: the Jaguars win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 18, along with the Miami Dolphins toppling the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers taking down the Denver Broncos.

But due to the Chargers' Week 17 loss to the Houston Texans, the Chargers are eliminated from the AFC West race and are relegated to one of the bottom three seeds. The Jaguars have seen stranger things happened, but Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh put a damper to these hopes when he announced on Monday that Justin Herbert would not play.

jacksonville jaguars — Dec 28, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) meet on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

This means the Chargers are set to turn the quarterback position over to long-time backup quarterback Trey Lance. Considering the Broncos still have the No. 1 seed at stake and can clinch it with a win, the Broncos should be set to take care of business. With a Broncos win, the Jaguars will be unable to win the top seed and will instead be looking to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

Jacksonville can still win the AFC South and host a Wild Card playoff game with a win against the last-place Titans, so there are still stakes at hand for Week 18. And to the Jaguars' credit, they have met every question so far with a clear answer of how far they have come as a team this year under Coen and his staff.

“I feel like since the beginning, just as a unit, as a team, Liam [Head Coach Liam Coen] just said, ‘We’ve got to come together and not let anybody tear us apart.’" Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington said n Monday.

"And I feel like that's been really cool because each time we've had an opportunity to answer to adversity, we've done a great job and we've came together and became closer as a team. So, I feel like we're just building on that, keeping that momentum going, and we just want to put our best foot forward and make the run and have some fun doing it.”

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Jaguars when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW.

Follow us on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and make sure you like our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.