Jaguars Face Brutal 5-Week Stretch That Will Determine Their Season

ACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It is clear where the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to have to prove that they are contenders this season.

To prove to the NFL that they are no fluke, the Jaguars will face a five-week stretch from Week 2 through Week 6 that will see them tested at the seams. It is here where the Jaguars will have to be able to prove to us how good they are.

liam coen — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen speaks during a press conference at the Miller Electric Center, Monday, April 20, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Toughest Stretch

Tasked with a first-place schedule this year, the Jaguars have some heavy-hitters on their schedule. This is what happens after winning the AFC South the year before, and the Jaguars must be ready to embrace a tough schedule and an even tougher five-week stretch.

The Jaguars’ 2026 schedule features six opponents that qualified for the 2025 NFL Playoffs. Of those six teams, five are reigning division champions, including the AFC Champion New England Patriots and the AFC’s No. 1 seed in 2025, the Denver Broncos.

The Jaguars play four of those six teams during this five week stretch: the Broncos on the road, the Patriots at home, and the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans at London in Weeks 5 & 6.

This is not to say the Jaguars can not get it done against this crop. The Jaguars went 2-2 during a similar four-game stretch last year that saw them play the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams within a month.

The Jaguars survived that though. The Jaguars played against three of the best teams in the entire NFC during that stretch, as well as a healthy Patrick Mahomes, and they were still able to escape it with only minor scratches. In fact, the Jaguars got even better after that stretch last year — something they will have to do again in 2026.

Last season, the Jaguars went 9-1 in 10 games after the Bye Week, including an eight-game win streak to close out the regular season. In that 10-week span, the Jaguars led the NFL in point margin (+147) and ranked second in points scored (328).

For the Jaguars to replicate their 2025 success this season, they will need similar success both during and after their schedule's toughest stretch. The four playoff teams the Jaguars are set to play during the stretch are all strong contenders to return to the playoffs again this season, and the only non-playoff team amongst this group is the Cincinnati Bengals.

We all remember what happened to the Jaguars in Cincinnati last year, and that was without Joe Burrow for most of the game. The Bengals are not one of the more difficult games the Jaguars have to play this year, but they are still a formidable foe with a few elite players who could push any team to the brink in a given week.

Coen proved to be a difference maker for the Jaguars as a culture-setter last season. There is no reason to think that will change this year, as he was able to get the Jaguars through their only periods of adversity last season.

But this is a different test, a different season, and a different team. Just because the Jaguars proved last season that they can survive tough stretches does not automatically mean they will do the same this year. Every single year, some teams are unable to recapture the magic from the previous season, and that is what the Jaguars will have to guard themselves against this year and during this stretch.

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