Jacksonville Jaguars in Best Position to Win the AFC South in Years

The Jacksonville Jaguars have not been a good team this year. They've lost games they shouldn't have, lack the consistency to perform for four quarters and have imploded in ways that would surprise, scare and possibly entertain fans and bystanders alike.

But despite all of the things that have gone poorly this season, the Jaguars are 2-5 and one game behind the Indianapolis Colts in the race for the AFC South title. "What A Time To Be Alive," indeed.

While it's very easy to look at the Jaguars situation in the AFC South, as seen below, with a good bit of cynicism and sarcasm, it is still the situation at hand, and the Jaguars must take advantage of it. 

Team	Overall Record	Divisional Record	Outside-Division Record	Week 8 Opponent
Indianapolis Colts	3-4	3-0	0-4	Carolina Panthers
Houston Texans	2-5	1-1	1-4	Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars	2-5	0-2	2-3	BYE Week
Tennessee Titans	1-5	0-1	1-4	Houston Texans

The one-game gap between the Colts and the Jaguars, as well as the 2-5 Houston Texans, going into Week 8 is the closest the Jaguars have been to the lead at this point in the season since 2004. While that's not a prideful stat, it is one that possibly makes this situation hopeful.

Not only are the Colts 3-4, they still have to play the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons in their next three games, who have a combined record of 18-1. The Colts are about to go through their toughest stretch of the year.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars' next three opponents are the New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans, whose combined record is 6-14, with the Ravens and Titans with a single win apiece.

You can see how the Jaguars might have a legitimate chance at the AFC South title down the road. The major thing that's stopping them is most likely themselves. This team has shot itself in the foot so many times that it might just want to get a prosthetic replacement.

Even in the win against the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars surrendered a 27-point lead. While the offense deserves praise for getting the job done late, both sides of the ball looked to be polar opposites of the squads that took the field at the start of the game.

There is a real possibility that the Jaguars got over that hump with a win, but it's really going to be impossible to tell until they face the Jets. The Jets will be a proper gauge of where the team is at, and they probably won't, and don't need to, win that game.

Losing to the Jets in a close and respectful fashion would be another hopeful performance personally. The Jets are legitimately good, and contending with them would be reassuring as the Jaguars take on another stretch of mostly winnable games.

Stephen Pond/Getty Images

The offense has put up the stats, but the timing of turnovers and offensive stalls has to improve. It's fine to get shut down every now and again, but being a streaky team when it comes to scoring has been a major issue this season.

Fortunately, the Jaguars offense has seemed to get better as the season has progressed. The rise of wide receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns has helped quarterback Blake Bortles immensely, and the early promising performances from rookie running back T.J. Yeldon could mean big moments later this year.

The defense has had explosive moments against the Bills and decent performances against good opponents, but it too has to find a more consistent and aggressive pass rush if the Jaguars want to win the turnover battle and set up better opportunities for the offense.

The current issues with the team are crystal-clear visible, but the Jaguars under Gus Bradley actually have a much better record in the second half of seasons than in the first half, as seen in the table below.

Year	First 8 Games	Last 8 Games	Overall Record
2013	0-8	4-4	4-12
2014	1-7	2-6	3-13
Total	1-15	6-10	7-25

The Jaguars have performed better in the second half of their seasons, but what does the current Jaguars performance translate to? The Jaguars weren't as consistently competitive and did not win two games before the halfway point in previous seasons, so could another jump in results be even larger than the previous two seasons?

No one has the answer to that question, but it isn't unreasonable to think the Jaguars could win more than three games in the second half of the season, especially when they play the Titans twice and the Colts, Texans, Ravens and New Orleans Saints once as well.

The Jaguars have a legitimate shot to win all those games. Will they win all those games? Probably not. But the weird comfort of playing in a horrible AFC South division may mean that the Jaguars don't have to win all those games and possibly only need to win four of them.

It has not been a pretty year for the Jaguars or the AFC South, but in all of its horrible and confusing glory, an actual chance for the Jaguars to win the division was born.

What do you think? Answer the poll and comment below!

All stats provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.

Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.