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          NFL Nation

          Tough start, rough December stretch key parts of Jacksonville Jaguars' schedule

          The Jaguars' annual London "home" game falls on Oct. 2, when they face the Colts. AP Photo/Sang Tan
          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterApr 15, 2016, 12:15 AM
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          Breakdown: The Jacksonville Jaguars have one of the league’s easier schedules (it’s tied for the fifth-easiest) but it still includes five playoff teams, including the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Houston, Green Bay, Minnesota and Kansas City are the other teams that made the playoffs. The schedule features its normal mid-season break from EverBank Field because of the annual Florida-Georgia game on Oct. 29 and a Navy-Notre Dame game on Nov. 5. The Jaguars play 2015 playoff teams Denver (home), Minnesota (home) and Houston (road) in consecutive weeks in December. However, the final three weeks feature division opponents (Houston and Indianapolis on the road and Tennessee at home) so they have a chance to make a late push in the AFC South. Other than the one league-mandated Thursday night game, the Jaguars don’t play in prime time in 2016. They haven’t played a Monday night game since Dec. 5, 2011, and haven’t played a Sunday night game since Oct. 5, 2008.

          Tough start: The Jaguars open with the Packers at home and then fly cross-country to face San Diego. That’s a tough couple of weeks. Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb and a healthy Jordy Nelson followed by Philip Rivers, who has absolutely destroyed the Jaguars in his career. Rivers is 5-1 and has thrown for 1,899 yards with 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Plus, the Jaguars are 0-3 in San Diego and have been outscored 105-48 in those games. The Jaguars have started poorly in September under coach Gus Bradley (1-10) and the first two games this season don’t help.

          Road warriors: The Jaguars’ annual “home” game in London is the earliest it has been since they started playing overseas in 2013. The Jaguars play Indianapolis on Oct. 2, which is the fourth week of the season. They have their bye week immediately after, which means they’ll play 12 consecutive games without a break. Because of that bye week, however, the Jaguars will play at EverBank Field just twice in a nine-week span. They play host to Baltimore on Sept. 25 and are next in EverBank just once in October (Oct. 25) and once in November (Nov. 13).

          Strength of schedule: T-23th, .473.

          Jaguars Regular-Season Schedule (All times Eastern)

          • Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 11, Green Bay, 1 p.m.

          • Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 18, at San Diego, 4:25 p.m.

          • Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 25, Baltimore, 1 p.m.

          • Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 2, Indianapolis (London), 9:30 a.m.

          • Week 5: BYE

          • Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 16, at Chicago, 1 p.m.

          • Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 23, Oakland, 1 p.m.

          • Week 8: Thursday, Oct. 27, at Tennessee, 8:25 p.m.

          • Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 6, at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

          • Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 13, Houston, 1 p.m.

          • Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 20, at Detroit, 1 p.m.

          • Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 27, at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

          • Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 4, Denver, 1 p.m.

          • Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 11, Minnesota, 1 p.m.

          • Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 18, at Houston, 1 p.m.

          • Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 24, Tennessee, 1 p.m.

          • Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 1, at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.