Jacksonville Jaguars News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks at the video scoreboard during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Seahawks defeated the Jaguars 20-12. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Why the Jaguars Got a Raw Deal in the 2025 NFL Season

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 11:00 AM ET

EverBank Stadium was eerily quiet throughout most of the afternoon, as fans could only watch with sweaty palms and clenched teeth as their Jacksonville Jaguars fell short against the Seattle Seahawks, 20-12. It wound up only being a one-score game, but it never really felt like this team had the juice to keep its win streak alive after upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs in Monday Night Football just six days earlier.

While this defeat was a gut punch, one that created shockwaves of somberness throughout Duval, this was by no means a collapse. The Seahawks have repeatedly proven that they have the goods to compete with anyone this year, behind one of the stoutest defenses in the league and a balanced attack featuring a rising quarterback in Sam Darnold, a certified star wideout in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and a lethal running back tandem in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.

Coming into the 2025 NFL season, had fans and analysts across the nation been told that the Jaguars would split their two-week slate against the Chiefs and the Seahawks, most people would have been pleasantly surprised. For a third-place team in the AFC South, Jacksonville's schedule is shockingly daunting.

Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Jaguars' schedule was highly underrated

The Jacksonville Jaguars were able to get off to an impressive 4-2 start under first-year head coach Liam Coen. That mark is even more striking when accounting for their schedule. So far, they've knocked off the Carolina Panthers, the reigning AFC South champion Houston Texans, the resurgent San Francisco 49ers, and the Super Bowl runner-up Kansas City Chiefs.

Their two losses were to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks. They should have beaten Cincy with Joe Burrow exiting after a few drives, but were clearly caught off guard by Jake Browning taking over under center. They narrowly lost to a feisty 'Hawks team in Week 6.

Thankfully, the schedule does lighten up a bit moving forward. The Jaguars have the Las Vegas Raiders, the New York Jets, the Arizona Cardinals, and two games against the Tennessee Titans left on the slate. However, they also still have to play the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Denver Broncos, and the Indianapolis Colts twice. Tankathon has Jacksonville with the 10th-easiest remaining schedule.

AFC Strength of schedule through Week 6:

Colts 5-1 .389
Steelers 4-1 .414
Chargers 4-2 .429
Patriots 4-2 .429
Bills 4-2 .286
Jaguars 4-2 .514
Broncos 4-2 .444
Chiefs 3-3 .528

The Bills have had the easiest schedule in the league based on opponent win percentage. https://t.co/3cpUGFYSnp
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) October 14, 2025

Coming into the season, the Jaguars were supposed to have the 24th-toughest gauntlet in the NFL. Of course, that's based entirely off the previous year's records. But Jacksonville drew the AFC West and the NFC West, both divisions that markedly improved over the offseason. Their own AFC South is also much more difficult than initially expected.

Pulling the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets was a blessing, but the Jaguars' schedule certainly wasn't the cakewalk that it was thought to be. Not counting their matchups with Jacksonville, the Jags' opponents so far are a combined 16-13 on the year. Removing the Bengals brings that to 15-9. This week, they take on the 4-2 Rams. Sheesh.

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

More must-reads: