The Jacksonville Jaguars are finally getting some serious love, sitting pretty at 3-1 and holding a convincing first-place lead in their division. Their shot at earning the top seed in the AFC is looking better with every win, and the national media is starting to pay attention, big time.
They Said They’d Earn Respect, And They’re Doing It
This team isn’t just winning, they’re dominating the narrative. After taking care of business in Week 4, the Jags have rocketed up the power rankings. Sports Illustrated bumped them from 5th to 2nd, with Conor Orr even admitting he needed a “crisis management firm” after making fun of their Travis Hunter trade-up. Pro Football Talk now has them at 3rd (up from 5th), and Mike Florio isn’t mincing words, saying the Jaguars have the “best shot at winning the No. 1 seed in the AFC.” Yahoo Sports, NFL.com, and CBS Sports all moved them up to 4th or 5th. Bleacher Report even pushed them from 8th to 5th. It is a crazy jump!
And guess what? They do not care about the hype, or the lack of it previously. Safety Antonio Johnson put it perfectly: “I don’t think we really care about the credit. We’re going to go into each week, and if you don’t look at us as an imposing defense, then we’re going to impose our will on you.” That is the kind of fire we love to see in a squad that is proving everyone wrong.
This Is Not A Fluke, Folks: The Jags Are Legit
So, why are they suddenly legit? Frank Schwab over at Yahoo Sports says Jacksonville is second only to San Francisco in DVOA, which is a pretty telling stat. These guys have not just won, they have *blown out* the Browns and Patriots, two teams that are a combined 5-1 against everyone else. Plus, they went into Cincinnati and beat a Bengals team that started 2-0 and is considered dangerous. Yeah, they had an “unfortunate” loss to the Broncos, but let’s be real, leading 10-3 at halftime and fading in the second half at altitude early in the season happens. If not for that, Schwab thinks they would be the undisputed #1 team right now.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook highlighted their clear identity: establish a credible running threat, let Trevor Lawrence work off that, and then let their “better than its reputation suggests” defense earn an extra possession or two. This strategy helped them build a 10-point lead by halftime in Week 4 against the Bengals and secure that big road win. Pete Prisco at CBS Sports called them a “complete team” with a “sneaky good” defense that is second in scoring. The only real hiccup in Week 4 was a whopping 13 penalties, something they will definitely need to clean up if they want to keep rolling this hard.
As for our own Seahawks, we are still riding high after that tough 30-23 victory over the Chargers. The team showed some serious grit, and that is what we are all about. Keep that energy going as we head into Week 5, Seattle. We know our guys can keep delivering!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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