JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s the second week in December and the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t discussing an early first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
For six consecutive years, the Jaguars have had one of the first five picks in the first round. Their 17-63 record during that span is the reason.
That won’t be the case next spring. In fact, should the Jaguars get into the playoffs — and they are on the verge of clinching that this Sunday — and win one playoff game, they are assured of picking no better than 25th.
A home win over the hapless Houston Texans (4-9) on Sunday would guarantee Jacksonville its first playoff appearance since the 2007 season.
At 9-4, the Jaguars sit atop the AFC South standings, a full game ahead of the Tennessee Titans. A Jacksonville win coupled with a Tennessee loss at Arizona on Sunday would assure the Jaguars of at least a share of the division crown.
Head coach Doug Marrone is not talking about the postseason, though.
“You’re not taking me there. Nope. Not doing it. Not jumping,” Marrone said Wednesday. “Listen — and I really mean this — like I have said before, we are focusing on what we have to do today. We have a team coming in that is getting players back and an in-division game. They want nothing more than to beat us, as we want nothing more than to beat them. Everything else that goes on around, I’m trying to keep this — because right now I’m trying to keep this team focused on today and preparing today for this team. That has been the way I’ve been all year. I understand it, I get the questions and everything, but I promise you none of you are going to be able to take me there.”
When asked if the players were talking about the playoff run among themselves, Marrone was just as emphatic.
“Not in front of me they won’t,” the Jaguars’ head coach said. “I won’t let that happen. It’s not productive to what we want to accomplish. We’re playing a divisional opponent, we’re playing them at home. We want to win this game obviously. That is the most important thing for us and we want to do it in front of our fans. They’re a big part of this.”
Jacksonville and the Texans opened the 2017 regular season in Houston and that’s where the Jaguars set the tone for the season. Wide receiver Allen Robinson tore his ACL in that game and was lost for the season.
But after Robinson’s injury, the Jaguars played at a high level for the rest of the game, which resulted in a 29-7 Jaguars victory. The defense recorded a franchise-record 10 sacks while forcing four turnovers. The offense totaled just 282 total yards, but 100 came from running back Leonard Fournette in his first NFL regular-season game. Fournette has gone on to register four more games of 100 yards or more and needs just 78 yards this Sunday to hit the 1,000-yard mark for the season, joining Fred Taylor as the only Jaguars rookie to reach that plateau.
The Texans have little to play for, and they will be without injured quarterbacks Tom Savage and rookie Deshaun Watson. The Jaguars will face journeyman quarterback T.J. Yates, 30, who is 4-3 in his career as a starter.
“You have a lot of guys coming back; probably the strong point of their team,” Marrone said. “(DeAndre) Hopkins has 11 touchdowns and (Will) Fuller has seven. The duo between the two have the most touchdowns in the NFL. We expect Braxton Miller to be back and (Alfred) Blue to be back.
“They are going to be at full strength at least on the outside for what they have. They’re very dangerous. I’d say when you look at the receiving corps, if Hopkins is one or No. 2 (in the league), but for us he is outstanding. He is an outstanding football player. He really is. He’s an outstanding football player.”