Why the Jaguars Don't Care Who Their Opponent Is

In Week 16, the Jacksonville Jaguars upended the Denver Broncos, 34-20, on the road to move to 11-4 on the 2025 NFL season. It marked their sixth straight win and stopped their opponent's streak at 11 games. It was also this team's fifth upset victory of the year. The Jaguars are no strangers to being underdogs. In fact, they're quite comfortable in that spot.

However, after this latest performance at Mile High Stadium, the Jaguars are going to be favored for the remainder of the season. To finish the year, they take on the Indianapolis Colts, who just lost their fifth in a row and are relying on 44-year-old Philip Rivers to quarterback them with Daniel Jones out with a ruptured Achilles, and the 3-2 Tennessee Titans.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Denver Broncos, Trevor Lawrence — Dec 21, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Jaguars don't care who's in front of them

Last week, I power-ranked the Jacksonville Jaguars' potential first-round playoff opponents. I had the Denver Broncos at No. 1. We all know how that turned out in the first meeting. It's certainly not a given that a rematch will end the same way. After all, the Jags played two very different games against the Houston Texans this year. However, it's clear that this team can compete with anybody.

That's partly due to the Jaguars' comfort as an underdog, having grown accustomed to the disrespect that this franchise receives on a regular basis. This team simply doesn't get rattled at the thought of a supposedly superior opponent. In fact, they don't really care who's lining up on the other side of the ball, according to tight end Brenton Strange:

It takes all of us.
#TENvsJAX tickets: https://t.co/tz23MWIBR6 pic.twitter.com/yp7dGUcAwe
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 23, 2025

"Something that Liam [Coen] and [James] Gladstone and Tony [Boselli], they always say is ‘Be us.’ And that's something that I love that they say, because it's kind of something that I've gone through my whole entire life. It's just every time I step on that field, I feel like personally, myself, I don't have to do anything else but be who I am, and that that'll do the job for me.

So I always feel like it's a faceless opponent in front of me, and I'm just battling, trying to be the best version of myself. And I think that they do a great job of just pulling that out of us each and every week.”

It's often said that the Jaguars' greatest opponent is themselves. That used to be a reference to this franchise's tendency to shoot itself in the foot. Now, it's taken on a whole new meaning. Liam Coen has his players competing with their past selves. If they can consistently outperform who they were yesterday, chances are they'll beat whatever team is on the other sideline, too.

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