There are two paths to the postseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who currently sit atop a three-way tie for the AFC South lead. They could beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday and defend their title as division champs. The other scenario isn’t one Jaguars coach Doug Pederson is interested in thinking about.
“There’s only one,” Pederson said. “There’s only one that matters right now for us. … That’s all I need to tell the team. There’s nothing other than trying to win this game on Sunday.”
If the Jaguars manage to beat the Titans in Nashville on Sunday, they’d own the No. 4 seed in the AFC and host the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round.
There is a backdoor into the postseason if Jacksonville loses, though. If the Baltimore Ravens, who have secured the No. 1 seed, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, the Jaguars would only need the Las Vegas Raiders to beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday if they lose to the Titans.
“I’m not going to cloud their mind with stuff,” Pederson said. “Obviously, our focus is trying to beat Tennessee and regardless of records and who’s playing and who’s not playing, this is always a really good football game and it’s a four-quarter game. That’s our focus right now.”
The Jaguars have won the AFC South just twice since its creation in 2002 and never in back-to-back seasons. During their tenure in the AFC Central, Jacksonville won the division title in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
