NFL Week 17 2022: 3 teams on upset alert this Sunday

2. NFL Teams That Should Be On Upset Alert In Week 17 – Jacksonville Jaguars

It has been quite the turnaround for Jacksonville, who most pundits left for dead after they lost to the Denver Broncos in London to fall to 2-6. The Jaguars have been on fire since, ripping off five wins in their next seven games to move into first place in the AFC South with two weeks to go.

It is remarkable to see Jacksonville in control of their own destiny in the division since a Week 18 win over the Tennessee Titans would complete a season sweep to lock up the Jaguars’ first playoff berth since 2017, when they fell to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence has taken a big leap forward and has served as the catalyst for this turnaround.

Week 17 is actually quite meaningless for Jacksonville, however, since no combination of results from them or the Titans will alter the fact that next week’s matchup is for all the marbles. It would, therefore, make some sense for the Jaguars to look a bit past Sunday’s tilt with the two-win Houston Texans.

Jacksonville is favored by four on the road against Houston, which just upset Tennessee last week and has been playing hard for Lovie Smith down the stretch. Doug Pederson will likely preach the importance of maintaining momentum to his young team but it would hardly be shocking to see Jacksonville slip up in a game that won’t affect their playoff positioning in any way.