The Jaguars' 2025 NFC Opponents in Triplicate

In 1973, ABC found a clever way to mind-trick children into learning with a series of animated musical educational short films that aired during Saturday morning cartoons. One of the iconic songs was called "Three is a Magic Number", a fun ditty about the number in all different contexts.

In the NFL, the No. 3 is not an illusion, but it seems supernatural in the magic that it makes when an offense can trot out a phenomenal trio at the quarterback, running back, and pass-catching positions. In 2025, the Jacksonville Jaguars will face five teams from the NFC. Where do those teams on the calendar rank on CBS Sports' 2025 NFL 'Triplets' rankings of the league's QB-RB-WR/TE combos.

In Week 1, the Jaguars host No. 29 Carolina. The Tier 7: "Not the Worst" trio consists of QB Bryce Young, RB Chuba Hubbard, and WR Tetairoa McMillan.

"Young had a resurgence over the second half of last season after briefly being benched in favor of Andy Dalton. After returning to the lineup in Week 8, he ranked 18th in EPA per dropback through the rest of the season, per Tru Media."

"That's a major improvement, obviously, but it's still not great and clearly wasn't enough to sway our panel, which was similarly unenthused by Hubbard (who has basically had one good season and two bad ones when actually given a significant number of carries) and McMillan, who, while talented, is still a rookie in a not-so-great situation."

The gutted Seattle Seahawks no longer have QB Geno Smith and WR DK Metcalf in their set of triplets, as only RB Kenneth Walker III remains. Joining him in the No. 24, Tier 6: "Plenty of Room for Improvement" Seahawks trio on a trip to Jacksonville in Week 7 is QB Sam Darnold and WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

"Opinions on these guys were all over the map, which is unsurprising given the season Darnold just had. He looked like an MVP candidate for a portion of the season but completely fell apart behind a depleted offensive line at the end. JSN had a breakout Year 2 and looks like a stud, and when healthy, Walker is awesome. But the (deserved) Darnold question marks keep the ranking in check."

At No. 17 is the Arizona Cardinals in Tier 5 as a "Just Below Average" trio featuring QB Kyler Murray, RB James Conner, and TE Trey McBride. These triplets will be in-house in Week 12 when Jacksonville takes a road trip to Glendale, Arizona.

"There was a wider range of opinions on the Cardinals than I expected there to be. I'd imagine that some of the disparity comes from the relatively disappointing season they got out of Marvin Harrison Jr. But he fell behind McBride in the pecking order and wasn't that efficient, so it seems like people view Arizona as in a holding pattern unless and until he takes over and/or we find out more about what he can be."

Snake bitten San Francisco had a rough, injury-filled 2024, but still rank in the Tier 2: "Just A Bit Outside" grouping with QB Brock Purdy, RB Christian McCaffrey and TE George Kittle. The 49ers will harshly welcome Josh Hines-Allen, Tyson Campbell and Travon Walker in Week 4.

"The Niners are a team that's very difficult to rank. The NFL world has talked ad nauseam about how hard it is to disentangle what Purdy does from the system in which he thrives. McCaffrey is the best running back in the league when healthy, but is coming off a season in which he missed almost the entire year, for the third time in his eight professional campaigns."

"Kittle is as reliable and explosive as it gets at the tight end position these days. The talent alone here is enough to carry the Niners into the top 10, and there's obviously room for them to move up if CMC stays healthy."

Ranked at No. 7 and in Tier 2 are the Los Angeles Rams trio of QB Matthew Stafford, RB Kyren Williams, and WR Puka Nacua; that trio and WR Davante Adams visit the Jaguars in London in Week 7.

"It's pretty incredible that Matthew Stafford is 37 years old and still has his team this high up on the list. The guy can still deal whenever he has competent wide receiver play, and obviously Nacua gives him so much more than that."

"I do find it interesting that the Rams didn't really seem to get dinged at all for Kyren Williams' inefficiency as a runner last season. I think that's at least in part due to the fact that he's such a good fantasy football producer because he's always on the field. (He's played 82% and 87% of the Rams' snaps during his two seasons as the starter.)"

Although these "triplets" aren't of blood relation, they, indeed, have a familial bond that can cast a spell on teams that can confound them. HC Liam Coen will want to have a strategy to be sure that they don't find themselves in the way of a wand cast by these teams. If they fare well against the other conference, Jaguars fans could witness the magic of their own in Duval.

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