Sep 21, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans shake hands after the game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

5 Reasons Jaguars Will Win AFC South in 2026

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Feb 10, 2026 10:00 AM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The NFL season is over, and the offseason is officially here around the rest of the league. 2025 is now nothing more than a memory.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars, it is a happy memory. Liam Coen's squad didn't find the postseason success they were looking for, but they had a dominant 13-4 season otherwise and won just the third AFC South title in the franchise's history.

With a chance to both reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026, there are plenty of reasons to think the Jaguars can repeat as AFC South champions for the first time. We break down the five best below.

Trevor Lawrence's offseason

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The biggest reason the Jaguars should be AFC South favorites again in 2025 has to start and end with Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence was an MVP finalist for a reason after his hot streak in the second-half of the season led the Jaguars to an 8-game winning streak. Lawrence played the best football of his entire career, and now he is healthy for the first offseason in years and is back with his head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. This should be his best offseason in years.

Texans, Colts QB questions

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With Lawrence coming off such a strong season, there is no debate the Jaguars have the AFC South's best quarterback situation. The Colts seem to believe Daniel Jones is the answer and will pay him, but his early-season success already feels like ages ago. He seems like a bad bet. Then there is CJ Stroud, whose final performance this season was one of the worst in playoff history. Jones needs to get healthy, and Stroud needs to rebound.

Titans' Rebuild

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I have said before that I think highly of Cam Ward. I could even see a scenario that he leaves the 2026 season as the second-best quarterback in the AFC South. With that said, the Titans are going through a true rebuild and the only progress they made in all of 2025 was finding Ward. They are starting from ground zero this season and shouldn't threaten the Jaguars.

Year 2 of the Liam Coen era

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Considering the schedule the Jaguars faced last season and the turnaround they experienced from the previous season, there is no questioning if Liam Coen and his coaching staff are legit. With Coen retaining both his coordinators and the vast majority of his staff, there is little reason to think he can't hit yet another level with a Jaguars team that has more experience with his scheme.

A healthy Travis Hunter

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Perhaps this is asking too much of a second-year Travis Hunter, but the sheer fact the Jaguars nine of their 13 wins last year without the No. 2 pick says two things. One, it says the Jaguars a deep and well-built team. Secondly, it says a healthy Hunter has the potential to take them from being a good team to a great team as long as he meets his potential on even just one side of the ball.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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