2015 Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

In many ways, this is a pivotal season for the Jacksonville Jaguars and, most importantly, head coach Gus Bradley and general manager David Caldwell.

Both joined the Jaguars in the 2013 offseason, at which point the franchise was arguably at its lowest ebb. The quarterback situation was a complete mess after Blaine Gabbert floundered in the starting role. Bradley and Caldwell also inherited a defense that ranked 28th in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) in 2012, per Football Outsiders.

In short, fans in Jacksonville knew that a rebuild was necessary and that the team wouldn't be competitive for at least a year or two. Bradley and Caldwell essentially got a free pass for 2013 and 2014, so the fact that the Jags combined to win seven games in the two years wasn't considered a fireable offense.

That buffer will be less forgiving in 2015, however. Bradley and Caldwell will have had three drafts to build the roster and three offseasons to supplement the squad in free agency.

Signing Julius Thomas and Jared Odrick back in March was a sign that Jacksonville is serious about taking big steps in 2015.

It would be inaccurate to say that Bradley and Caldwell are on the hot seat, but both ownership and the fanbase will want to see marked improvement this year in order to remain confident that the franchise is heading in the right direction.

Here's a look at the Jaguars' full regular-season schedule, courtesy of NFL.com:

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	Sunday, Sept. 13	vs. Carolina Panthers	1 p.m.	Fox
2	Sunday, Sept. 20	vs. Miami Dolphins	4:05 p.m.	CBS
3	Sunday, Sept. 27	at New England Patriots	1 p.m.	CBS
4	Sunday, Oct. 4	at Indianapolis Colts	1 p.m.	CBS
5	Sunday, Oct. 11	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1 p.m.	CBS
6	Sunday, Oct. 18	vs. Houston Texans	1 p.m.	CBS
7	Sunday, Oct. 25	vs. Buffalo Bills (in London)	9:30 a.m.	CBS
8	—	BYE
9	Sunday, Nov. 8	at New York Jets	1 p.m.	CBS
10	Sunday, Nov. 15	at Baltimore Ravens	1 p.m.	CBS
11	Thursday, Nov. 19	vs. Tennessee Titans	8:25 p.m.	NFL Network
12	Sunday, Nov. 29	vs. San Diego Chargers	1 p.m.	CBS
13	Sunday, Dec. 6	at Tennessee Titans	1 p.m.	CBS
14	Sunday, Dec. 13	vs. Indianapolis Colts	1 p.m.	CBS
15	Sunday, Dec. 20	vs. Atlanta Falcons	1 p.m.	Fox
16	Sunday, Dec. 27	at New Orleans Saints	1 p.m.	CBS
17	Sunday, Jan. 3	at Houston Texans	1 p.m.	CBS

Analysis

Depending on your opinion of Thomas' ability, the Jaguars were either one of the biggest winners or the biggest losers of the offseason. Jacksonville threw five years and $46 million his way as it looked to help Blake Bortles and strengthen the passing game.

Odrick and Jermey Parnell were also shrewd additions, as the Jaguars spent the millions they held in cap space.

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar felt that the signings not only help the team on the field but also indicate that Jacksonville can be an attractive free-agent destination:

Caldwell spoke about the team's busy spring, per Jaguars.com's John Oehser:

"

We probably haven’t spent as much as we thought we would have. I wouldn’t call it fun. I give a lot of credit to our scouting department, our finance department, Tim Walsh and John Idzik. They’ve done a great job over the last three or four days, as well as our coaching staff. It’s been fun from a team standpoint and working together and everyone working together. The last twelve to twenty-four hours has been quite stressful.

"

Of course, you can't make the playoffs in March.

The Jaguars will have a relatively tough 2015 slate.

They dodged a bullet, avoiding the NFC West with their interconference clashes, but the New Orleans Saints will make for a taxing road game. The Carolina Panthers will also be a difficult matchup, even at home.

Jacksonville's intraconference schedule provides some major hurdles as well in the form of road games against the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.

Pivotal Matchups

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Two games immediately stand out as among the biggest for the Jaguars in 2015: their two matchups with the Indianapolis Colts in Weeks 4 and 14.

As the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair famously said, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man." The Colts have won the AFC South in each of the last two years and don't look to be trending downward anytime soon. The division will almost certainly go through Indianapolis in 2015.

It's probably premature to expect Jacksonville to dethrone the Colts this year, but those two games will serve as measuring sticks to see where the Jaguars are relative to the South's best team.

In a similar vein, the Jags' two games against the Houston Texans will also be interesting to watch. Whether Jacksonville is fighting for a division crown or wild-card spot in the AFC or simply playing spoiler, those two meetings with the Texans could carry major consequences in the postseason race.