Climbing to No. 3 in power rankings, the Jaguars eye a Super Bowl run, their path clearer than ever with a surging offense.
The NFL playoffs are here, and for just the second time this decade, the Jacksonville Jaguars are in them.
Things are looking a little different than they were the last time Jacksonville made it to the postseason.
In the 2022 season, the Jaguars won the AFC South, as they've done this year.
But because 1) the Jags were 9-8 that season and 2) it was in the Kansas City Chiefs' run of dominance, not many expected Jacksonville to make it to the Super Bowl. (The Jags ended up winning the wild-card matchup, but losing to KC by seven on the road in the divisional round.)
This time, the Jags are 13-4, Trevor Lawrence has two more seasons of experience, and the Chiefs' dynasty appears to be over with their 6-11 finish.
Per NFL.com's Power Rankings, this year's Jaguars have as good a chance as any team to win out in the AFC.
Jacksonville is ranked No. 3 entering the postseason. The only AFC team the Jags trail is No. 2 New England.
An advantage that the Jags have over the Patriots is that Lawrence has playoff experience, whereas New England quarterback Drake Maye — who many think should be the league's MVP — doesn't.
NFL.com also has the Jags ahead of top-seeded Denver, which Jacksonville happened to beat by two touchdowns on the road less than three weeks ago.
With Kansas City out of the picture, no AFC contender has been to the Super Bowl recently, so the door is wide open for Jacksonville to get there for the first time.
"During the eight-game win streak, the Jags have outscored its opponents by a count of 269 to 116," wrote NFL.com's Eric Edholm. "Possibly only getting one home game hurts a bit, but they were 7-2 at home and 6-2 on the road against a very competitive schedule. Getting past Buffalo on Wild Card weekend will be no cakewalk, either. But the Jaguars have won some impressive games this season, have big-play potential in all three phases, and are as poised to make a postseason run as they’ve been since 2017."
Edholm is right: The Bills could be a problem.
Of all of the AFC contenders, Buffalo is the one with the most playoff experience, having made the postseason in seven of the past nine tries -- and made it to two conference championship games, including one last year.
Bills-Jaguars is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday in Jacksonville.