Oddsmakers Project Jaguars to Be Least Likely Team to Make Playoffs

Don't expect for this trend to reverse after an offseason of moves that have left the Jaguars roster depleted.

Oddsmakers have been low on the Jacksonville Jaguars chances to make the playoffs all offseason, so it is no surprise to see more and more oddsmakers come out with low expectations for the squad. And while the Jaguars' roster and coaching staff is likely more talented than most like to credit them for, they will continue to be doubted until the games begin. 

The latest oddsmakers to project the Jaguars to have a disappointing season is Odds Shark, whose odds are via Bovada. With the season a few months away, Odds Shark has projected the Jaguars to be the team with the lowest odds to make a postseason appearance in 2020, giving Jacksonville -1500 odds to miss the playoffs, the lowest odds of all 32 teams.

The last time Jacksonville made the playoffs was following a 10-6 season in 2017, which saw the Jaguars advance all the way to the AFC Championship. Since then, Jacksonville has finished last in the AFC South in each of the last two seasons and has accumulated a 11-21 record. 

Odds Shark also gave the Jaguars just +675 odds to make the playoffs, the worst odds of any team.

The only team whose odds resemble the Jaguars is Washington, who Odds Shark gave only +625 odds to make the playoffs and -1300 odds to miss the postseason. As a whole, the Jaguars and Washington are seen as the two weakest teams in most projections and odds for 2020, with teams such as the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals trailing them.

The Jaguars roster is cognizant of how much of the national media is viewing them and their chances in 2020, but they have thus far used the negative perception as motivation. It should be noted the 2017 Jaguars squad had similarly low fanfare entering the season and that team was able to use that negative energy to help bond together through the rest of the season, something the 2020 Jaguars will undoubtedly try to do.

“I think it should put a chip on everybody’s shoulder on our team, know being kind of counted out like that," Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew said in May. "I think we do have a lot to prove, prove that we are not what anybody says about us, the only people that really know, the only peoples whose opinions matter is who is in that huddle, who is on that team and I think we are going to set those expectations for ourselves and not worry about what anybody else has to say about us.”