Jacksonville Jaguars' 2022 schedule: Brutal midseason stretch will determine season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

The season will kick off Thursday, Sept. 8, with the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games last season, and the final regular-season games will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Here's what's in store for the Jaguars:

Schedule

Sept. 11: at Washington

Sept. 18: vs. Indianapolis

Sept. 25: at Los Angeles Chargers

Oct. 2: at Philadelphia

Oct. 9: vs. Houston

Oct. 16: at Indianapolis

Oct. 23: vs. New York Giants

Oct. 30: vs. Denver (Wembley Stadium)

Nov. 6: vs. Las Vegas

Nov. 13: at Kansas City

Nov. 20: Bye

Nov. 27: vs. Baltimore

Dec. 4: at Detroit

Dec. 11: at Tennessee

Dec. 18: vs. Dallas

Dec. 22: at New York Jets (TNF)

Jan. 1: at Houston

Jan. 7/8: vs. Tennessee

Strength of schedule: T-26th, .469

Biggest takeaway

The Jaguars have a chance to get off to a decent start in the first seven weeks with winnable games against the Washington Commanders, Houston Texans and New York Giants, but their season will be defined by their next four games: Denver Broncos in London, Las Vegas Raiders, at Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. That’s where we’ll see if the Jaguars’ supposedly improved defense -- with the additions of end Travon Walker (the No. 1 pick in April's draft), linebackers Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, and cornerback Darious Williams -- is for real, because they’ll be facing four quarterbacks who have won a combined two Super Bowls and two MVPs and made a combined 18 Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. That’s a brutal stretch.

Revenge game

New coach Doug Pederson returns to Philadelphia in Week 4 to face the franchise that he led to the Super Bowl LII championship. It will be his first trip back to Lincoln Financial Field since the Eagles fired him following the 2020 season. According to Elias, Pederson was just the second head coach to be fired within three seasons of winning a Super Bowl (Baltimore fired Don McCafferty in 1972). Even though Philly fans are notorious for not being shy at voicing their displeasure, it’s hard to imagine that Pederson won’t get a warm welcome – at least at first. He helped the franchise win its only Super Bowl and gave the city just its third pro sports title since the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 1980.

What the oddsmakers think

The oddsmakers have the Jaguars' win total at 6.5. Just having Pederson leading the ship instead of Urban Meyer will make a huge difference, but to hit the over, quarterback Trevor Lawrence has to make major strides in his second season. That doesn’t seem unreasonable, considering he’s not dealing with the dysfunction that infested the franchise under Meyer, the fact that Pederson has given him three assistants who were former college or pro quarterbacks, and the team added receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram in free agency.

Bold prediction

The Jaguars, who have won only four games the past two seasons combined, will snap two long losing streaks by beating Washington on the road in the season opener. They’ve lost 17 consecutive road games dating back to a victory in Oakland on Dec. 15, 2019, and they’ve lost 16 consecutive games against NFC teams dating back to beating the Giants in the 2018 season opener.