NFL schedule 2018: Each team’s biggest game

Jacksonville Jaguars: vs. New England Patriots

The 2017 season was a resounding, long-awaited success for the Jacksonville Jaguars. A 10-6 regular season record, an AFC South title and two playoff wins would go down as a good season anywhere, even leaving aside the team’s recent history of ineptitude.

But the Jaguars could also see a disappointing end as a driving force going forward. They had the Patriots on the ropes in the AFC Championship Game, after taking a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, before Tom Brady went into Tom Brady mode by leading two touchdown drives after that. Blake Bortles even went toe-to-toe with Brady, relatively speaking, completing 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers.

A Jaguars-Patriots AFC title game rematch is a great candidate for a prime time game. The NFL schedule makers should be able to see that as clearly as I do, as long as CBS doesn’t prioritize it as a game they want to keep.

The Patriots may be as vulnerable as they’ve ever been this year, if indications of crumbling from the inside bear out on the field. Even in the regular season, the Jaguars can take a step toward ushering in a new era at the top of the AFC with a win .