Top 10 favorites for Super Bowl 53

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

After a long run as one of the worst teams in the league and 3-13 season in 2016, the Jaguars rebounded to go 10-6, win the AFC South and make the playoffs for the first time since 2007 in 2017. A talent-laden defense and a strong running game on the back of rookie running back Leonard Fournette, and less of Blake Bortles passing, was the formula for success. New lead front office man Tom Coughlin brought a quick change of the culture in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville had New England on the ropes for much of the first half of the AFC Championship Game, and they took a 14-10 lead into halftime with Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski going out of the game with a concussion. They also carried a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter, with a road upset and trip to Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII close enough to smell, before Tom Brady fully became Tom Brady and led a late comeback.

Regardless of who the quarterback is, Bortles or someone else (Alex Smith? Kirk Cousins?), the Jaguars have the other pieces in place to make a deep playoff run again next season. The AFC South looks to be a competitive next year, with two 2017 playoff teams and two teams looking to recapture some recent success. But the Jaguars have to the favorite to win the division until further notice, and now they have playoff experience to lean on to foster another deep run.