The time is now, and all eyes will be on the First Coast as the 2025 Jacksonville Jaguars season approaches. The Jags finished 4-13 last year look to turn a new page from the front office all the way down to the coaching staff. This season brings lofty goals and a lot of expectations. Early in the offseason we saw the club be aggressive in free agency and downright ruthless in the draft by jumping up to get WR/DB Travis hunter. New Head Coach Liam Coen now has the tools to win or make us question the franchise moves thus far. So, I say, the time is now. As I look to the season, I give a quick breakdown what the fans and city should look to see.
Week 1 the Jags take on the Carolina Panthers. A little more than 30 years after the Jaguars and Panthers played in the 1995 Hall of Game in their inaugural season, they will open the '25 regular season in Jacksonville – marking the first time the Jaguars have opened the regular season at home since the 2020 COVID-19 season. The all-time series is tied 4-4 with the Jaguars leading 3-1 in Jacksonville. The Jaguars won the last meeting, 26-0, in Jacksonville in 2023. Week 2 brings the Jaguars' first road game of the '25 season, and the first of a difficult stretch before a Week 8 bye comes later down the line. The Jaguars and Bengals have played twice since Lawrence's selection, but Burrow missed the 2023 meeting with an injury. The Jaguars lead the series 13-12 and the Bengals are 8-5 against the Jaguars in Cincinnati. The Bengals won the last meeting in December 2023, 34-31, in overtime. Will this be the game where Trevor Lawrence takes down Joe Burrow, or will it be a repeat of the national championship game years ago. Week 3 brings an early-season AFC South game, with the Texans having won the last two division titles after the Jaguars won it in 2022. The Texans lead the all-time series 31-15, 15-8 in Jacksonville. This is a game the Jaguars need to win to get an early lead in the division. A loss here will definitely put them behind as the season moves along. Week 4 has the boys in teal headed West to take on the 49ers. This is a 49ers team who has loss a significant amount of key personnel, but this is still a great coached team under Kyle Shanahan. The Jaguars are 2-5 all-time against the 49ers, with the 49ers winning the last meeting – 34-3 in Jacksonville in 2023. The Jaguars are 0-2 all-time on the road against the 49ers. Week 5 brings the national cameras to Duval. This is the Jaguars' lone prime-time game of the season – and their second game in two weeks against a 2024 division champion. As we all know, the Chiefs are not an easy out. They have played in the last seven AFC Championship Games and five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player (2018, 2022), a Pro Bowl selection from 2018-2023 and a three-time Super Bowl MVP (following the 2019, 2022 and 2023 seasons). The Chiefs lead the series 10-6 and the Jaguars are 2-3 against the Chiefs in Jacksonville. The Chiefs won the last meeting, 17-9, in Jacksonville in 2023. Week 6 has the Jags taking on the Seatle Seahawks. This marks the first of two consecutive NFC West opponents for the Jaguars leading into a Week 8 bye. The Seahawks lead the series 6-3 and won the last meeting, 31-7 in Jacksonville in 2021. The Jaguars are 3-2 all-time against the Seahawks in Jacksonville. Week 7 has the club going across the pond to take on the LA Rams. Gladstone spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Rams and Coen spent 2018-2020 as an assistant with the Rams under Head Coach Sean McVay before spending 2022 as the Rams' offensive coordinator. The Rams are 5-1 all-time against the Jaguars and won the last meeting, 31-7, in Los Angeles in 2021. The Jaguars are 7-6 all-time in London, 5-5 at Wembley Stadium. I won’t say this one is personal, but don’t embarrass the new GM in front of his old girlfriend you know. The Jaguars get a Week 8 bye and then head West again for Week 9 to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams changed coaches and reset the organization in the offseason, with former Seattle Seahawks/New England Patriots/New York Jets Head Coach Pete Carroll taking over as head coach and longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive Dave Spytek taking over as general manger. The Jaguars lead the series 6-5 and are 4-3 on the road against the Raiders with the Raiders winning last season, 19-14. Week 10 has them headed to Houston to take on the Texans. This game is interesting. They have a chance to either sweep, lose or split both games with Houston before they even see their other opponents in the AFC South. The Jaguars are 7-16 all-time in Houston, winning there in 2022 and 2023. Week 11 brings the LA Chargers to EverBank Stadium. The Chargers lead the series 9-5 with the Jaguars winning the last meeting, 31-30, in an AFC Wild Card Playoff game following the 2022 season. The Jaguars are 1-5 all-time on the road against the Chargers. We all remember the last time the Chargers were in the bank and I’m sure the franchise and their fans haven’t forgotten either. Week 12 has the boys headed to Arizona. This is the fourth game of the season for the Jaguars against a team with a losing record in 2024, but the Cardinals were competitive last season before losing five of their final seven games. The Cardinals lead the series, 4-2, with the teams splitting two games in Arizona. The Cardinals won the most recent meeting, 31-19, in Jacksonville in 2021. Week 12 has the team headed to Nashville to take on the Titans. The Titans lead the series 35-26 and lead the series in Nashville, 18-11. The Jaguars have won five of the last six meetings and swept the series in 2022 and 2024. Division games are tough and usually they throw records out the window. I see no deviation from that in this one as two number one over all picks go head-to-head. Week 14 welcomes the Colts to the First Coast. The Colts haven't won in Jacksonville since 2014 – a span in which the Colts have had four winning records and two playoff appearances. They enter their third season under Head Coach Shane Steichen and have missed the postseason the last four seasons. The Colts lead the series 28-20 and beat the Jaguars, 26-23, in overtime in the 2024 regular-season finale. The Jaguars have won 10 consecutive home games in the series, with nine of those games in Jacksonville. Week 15 has the Jets coming back to Jacksonville this year. The Jets haven't had a winning record since 2015 and last made the postseason in 2010, resetting the organization this offseason by hiring former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as head coach and former Denver Broncos personnel executive Darren Mougey as general manager. The all-time series is tied 9-9 and the Jaguars are 5-2 at home in the series. The Jets won the 2024 meeting, 32-25, in Jacksonville. Week 16 has the cats headed to the Mile High City. This is the Jaguars' last non-AFC South game before closing the season at Indianapolis and home against Tennessee. The Jaguars are 7-8 all-time against the Broncos and the series is tied 4-4 in Denver. The Broncos won the last meeting, 21-17, at Wembley Stadium in London in 2022. Week 17 has our boys headed to Indy to take on the Colts. The Colts are 18-6 all-time against the Jaguars in Indianapolis. However, we are far past the days of Peyton Manning being in that blue uniform and Andrew Luck carving them up. This is a late division game that the Jags have to take. The Jags end their season at home against the Tennessee Titans. They lost to the Titans, 28-20, in Nashville in the 2023 regular-season finale – a game that eliminated the Jaguars from the postseason. The Jaguars are 11-19 on the road against the Titans. Small fact, the Jaguars are undefeated when they finish the season at home.