Jaguars Open As Favorites Against Only One Team in 2021

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a wave of positive momentum for the vast majority of the 2021 offseason, but that doesn't always equate to earning favor among oddsmakers.

While the Jaguars have been a popular pick by many to be a surprise team in 2021, there are others who are less optimistic about the team entering the season. Among those is the Westgate sportsbook, which has released lines on each regular-season game for the upcoming season.

One year after the Jaguars finished with a league-worst 1-15 record, Westgate projects the Jaguars as favorites against only one team -- the Houston Texans. The Jaguars are picked as favorites against the Texans twice since the teams play multiple times as divisional rivals.

The Jaguars open as -3 road favorites against the Texans in Week 1 according to Westgate, while the Jaguars are -4-point home favorites against the Texans in Week 15.

Week 1 will be the first time the Jaguars have been a favorite in a game since Week 3 versus the Miami Dolphins last season, when the Jaguars were a 2.5-point favorite. The Jaguars lost that game 31-13, the second in what would become a 15-game losing streak, leading to the Jags claiming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

It is interesting the Jaguars are only pegged as favorites against the Texans considering the Jaguars have lost each of their last six games against Houston, even with Houston going through their own turbulent season in 2020. The Jaguars last defeated Houston on Dec. 17, 2017. Since then, the Texans have beat the Jaguars by at least 13 points in four-of-six contests.

"Well, the way I've always looked at everything is—at the moment whoever gives us the best chance to win is going to be playing, if that's your question. And that's every position at that moment who gives us the best chance to win and that there is an incredible amount of urgency," Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said on April 30 at Trevor Lawrence's introductory press conference.

"I told our players that, all due respect, the four-, five-, six-year plans, that’s not that plan at all. The plan is to try to do the very best to win. Every time we line up, we try to win.”

The Jaguars are underdogs in 13 games, while they are in a pick'em with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12. The following games represent the games Westgate has Jacksonville slotted as the underdogs.

Week 2 vs. Denver Broncos: 1½-point underdogs.
Week 3 vs. Arizona Cardinals: 2½-point underdogs.
Week 4 @ Cincinnati Bengals: 2½-point underdogs.
Week 5 vs. Tennessee Titans: 2½-point underdogs.
Week 6 vs. Miami Dolphins (in London): 1½-point underdogs.
Week 8: @ Seattle Seahawks: 7-point underdogs.
Week 9 vs. Buffalo Bills: 6½-point underdogs.
Week 10 vs. Indianapolis Colts: 7½-point underdogs.
Week 11 vs. San Francisco 49ers: 4-point underdogs.
Week 13 @ Los Angeles Rams: 9½-point underdogs.
Week 14 @ Tennessee Titans: 6-point underdogs.
Week 16 @ New York Jets: 1½-point underdogs.
Week 17 vs. Indianapolis Colts: 3-point underdogs.

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