NFL Playoff Picture: Can The Jacksonville Jaguars Win The AFC South?

After an unbelievable comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, the Jacksonville Jaguars now have a real shot at making the postseason and win the AFC South, with our AI predictive analytics model giving them a 39.5% chance of taking the Division. Is the Jags to win the AFC South a bet worth making? They are currently just one game behind the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South standings, and they'll have a chance to leapfrog them in the final week of the NFL regular season. With the Jaguars having won two in a row and the Titans on a four-game losing skid, the momentum also happens to be on Jacksonville's side. With that in mind, we'll tell you why the Jaguars are a good bet to steal the division.

RELATED: Dimers' NFL Bet Hub features best bets and props for every game of the 2022-23 season

Jacksonville Jaguars Remaining 2022 NFL Schedule

Jaguars Opponent	When
Week 16 - at Jets	Thursday, Dec 22 - 8:15PM ET
Week 17 - at Texans	Sunday, Jan 1 - 1:00PM ET
Week 18 - vs. Titans	Sunday, Jan 8 - TBD

One thing working in the Jaguars' favor is the fact that they have a very easy rest-of-season schedule. Jacksonville is currently a small underdog with the sportsbooks — despite the Dimers artificial intelligence predictions model rating them as a 77% chance to get the W in its meeting with the New York Jets for Thursday Night Football — but the early sharp action is coming in on Doug Pederson's team. The Jets might be a fantastic story this season, but they have some serious issues at the quarterback position.

Mike White is currently dealing with injured ribs, and getting him cleared has been difficult for New York. That means that the Jets could have Zach Wilson under center again this week, and his up-and-down play was one of the main reasons New York wasn't able to get the job done against the Detroit Lions in Week 15. 

After the meeting with the Jets, the Jaguars would get to face a Texans team that is a miserable 1-12-1 this season. We should mention that Houston has been somewhat competitive against good opponents in recent weeks, but the Texans have a -109 point differential this season. And with a spot in the playoffs on the line, the Jaguars would be widely expected to defeat a Texans squad that has absolutely nothing to play for. 

Finally, the Jaguars would have a shot at stealing the division from the Titans with a win in Week 18. After earning a 36-22 win over Tennessee in Nashville two weeks ago, the tiebreaker would go to Jacksonville in the event the two teams have the same record at the end of the regular season. That means that the Jaguars control their own destiny, and it's hard not to like them at home in the season finale.

AFC South Playoff Picture: Jacksonville Jaguars Rising, Tennessee Titans Falling

While the Titans have lost each of their last four games, the Jaguars have won two in a row and four of their last six. Losing left tackle Cam Robinson for the season is going to hurt, but Jacksonville is in a much better place than Tennessee at the moment.

Despite having a worse record right now, the Jaguars are actually ranked higher than the Titans in overall DVOA. Jacksonville is 15th in the league in that telling efficiency metric, while Tennessee is just 21st.

The Jaguars are also getting elite quarterback play out of Trevor Lawrence, who has thrown for 13 touchdowns and only one interception over the last five games — while also adding a score on the ground. Having a dynamic talent like Lawrence under center is crucial at this time of the year, and Pederson definitely feels like his team is capable of making some noise the rest of the way. 

The Jaguars also happen to have an electric player in the backfield, as Travis Etienne has looked like a star in his first real season in the NFL. He has rushed for 917 yards and four touchdowns on the year, and he has also added 27 receptions for 238 yards — giving him over 1,000 all-purpose yards on the season. 

This Jacksonville team is just easy to root for with its exciting offense. This is a story that is fun for fans all around the world to follow, meaning it's not exclusive to Duval County. Meanwhile, the Titans appear to be on their last legs. Tennessee has been a good team in recent seasons, but the product with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback is becoming stale. Derrick Henry is still one of the best running backs in football, but the Titans made a mistake in trading AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. We're now seeing Tennessee pay for that. 

Jacksonville Jaguars Odds To Win AFC South

You can get the Jaguars for as high as +125 odds to win the division, but we'd suggest taking it at +120 at Caesars Sportsbook. It's clear at this point that we like Jacksonville to go on to win the division, as we think this team is playing its best football at the right time and has an extremely soft schedule to navigate the rest of the way. With that being the case, why not put a big risk-free bet on the Jaguars at plus-money odds? This is a ridiculously good value and Caesars is offering a risk-free bet of up to $1,250 (plus 1,000 Tier and Reward Credits). We know that everybody isn't in a position to put that much down on a bet, but you will get whatever you lose back in the form of a free bet. So, we suggest putting down at least $300 here, as you could have a $660 bankroll after this hits.