2016 Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t made the playoffs or even finished with a record above .500 since the 2007 season. They certainly hope to change that in 2016, and they now have the schedule they will be asked to navigate.

Jacksonville remained in the postseason picture in the AFC South for a portion of last season, but it lost five of its final six games and finished 5-11. Still, there is reason for optimism with a young aerial attack that features quarterback Blake Bortles and wide receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns.

The Jaguars also added running back Chris Ivory to a rushing game that already featured youngster T.J. Yeldon and signed defensive end Malik Jackson, cornerback Prince Amukamara and defensive back Tashaun Gipson to bolster the defense in place.

Team owner Shad Khan discussed the possibility of his team becoming competitive in the near future, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union: “You can have gratification [from hearing that chatter], but we haven’t won a game yet. All of the signs point in the right direction so it should give us the confidence. Definitely cause for optimism.”

Here is a look at the schedule the Jaguars will attack with that optimism.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV
1	Sept. 11	vs. Green Bay Packers	1 p.m.	FOX
2	Sept. 18	at San Diego Chargers	4:25 p.m.	CBS
3	Sept. 25	vs. Baltimore Ravens	1 p.m.	CBS
4	Oct. 2	vs. Indianapolis Colts	9:30 a.m.	CBS
5	BYE
6	Oct. 16	at Chicago Bears	1 p.m.	CBS
7	Oct. 23	vs. Oakland Raiders	1 p.m.	CBS
8	Oct. 27	at Tennessee Titans	8:25 p.m.	NFL Network
9	Nov. 6	at Kansas City Chiefs	1 p.m.	CBS
10	Nov. 13	vs. Houston Texans	1 p.m.	CBS
11	Nov. 20	at Detroit Lions	1 p.m.	CBS
12	Nov. 27	at Buffalo Bills	1 p.m.	CBS
13	Dec. 4	vs. Denver Broncos	1 p.m.	CBS
14	Dec. 11	vs. Minnesota Vikings	1 p.m.	FOX
15	Dec. 18	at Houston Texans	1 p.m.	CBS
16	Dec. 24	vs. Tennessee Titans	1 p.m.	CBS
17	Jan. 1	at Indianapolis Colts	1 p.m.	CBS

Analysis

As with any NFL schedule, the divisional contests stick out. The AFC South finished a combined 25-39 in 2015, and only the 9-7 Houston Texans sported a winning record. While injuries to Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck played a role in his team’s failure to finish with a winning mark, that’s not exactly murderer’s row for the Jaguars to overcome.

Still, Luck is presumably going to be back and healthy, and the Colts finished with 11 wins in each of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 campaigns with him under center. His mere presence alone makes the Colts a playoff contender.

Houston features one of the best defenses in the league (third in total defense and seventh in scoring defense in 2015), with J.J. Watt leading the way, and it added quarterback Brock Osweiler and running back Lamar Miller to an offense looking to improve.

Even the Tennessee Titans figure to make strides with Marcus Mariota under center with a year of experience under his belt.

If the Jaguars are going to make the playoffs this year, the division will likely prove more difficult to conquer than it was in 2015.

Elsewhere, Jacksonville (and the rest of the AFC South) will play the NFC North in its cross-conference games.

The biggest positive for the Jaguars when it comes to facing the NFC North is the fact the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions both come to Jacksonville. Both were playoff teams last season and feature dynamic game-changers in quarterback Aaron Rodgers and running back Adrian Peterson. The Jaguars have to face both squads, but at least they get them at home.

That means Jacksonville travels to face the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions on the road. Chicago may have a storied tradition, but its last winning season was in 2012. What’s more, the Lions posted a winning record only once in the last four years and are dealing with the retirement of star wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The Jaguars also square off with every team in the AFC West, including the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Jacksonville also gets the Broncos at home, but Bortles and the young offense will have to match wits with Von Miller and the formidable Denver defense. The Jaguars also have a date with the Kansas City Chiefs after their playoff appearance last season.

Jacksonville gets something of a break since it finished in third place in the AFC South in 2015. That means a third-place schedule and the avoidance of squads such as the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, the Jaguars face the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, although both have the personnel to compete in the AFC this year.

Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com analyzed Jacksonville’s 2016 opponents before the end of the 2015 season:

"

The Jaguars’ 2016 schedule is harder than the third-place schedule they ended up facing in 2015, partly because of the expectation that the AFC South won’t be as terrible as it was this season. Houston is almost certainly going to win the division this weekend, so that gives the Jaguars five playoff opponents. The home schedule includes one of the league’s top defenses (Denver) and three of the league’s top young QBs (Derek Carr, Teddy Bridgewater and Marcus Mariota), which could be a problem if the Jaguars don’t fix their pedestrian pass rush. 

"

Fixing that pedestrian pass rush is why Jacksonville signed Jackson. Now, fans get to see if it pays off against a challenging schedule.

Pivotal Matchups

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

The bottom line for the Jaguars heading into the 2016 season is the fact they have to play better against the AFC South. Jacksonville finished 2-4 in 2015 against its division foes, including an 0-2 mark against the champion Texans.

That likely means dealing with Luck on the Colts and Watt on the Texans, but the Jaguars cannot expect to make noise in what could be a tight division race if they finish with a below-.500 mark against the AFC South again in 2016.

What’s more, it is important the Jaguars make strides in any potential wild-card race since they haven’t even made the playoffs since 2007. There are a number of opportunities to pick up critical head-to-head victories that would impact tiebreaker scenarios, including games against the San Diego Chargers, Chiefs, Ravens and Bills.

Jacksonville has been in the rebuilding process for some time, and now, it has a young core that appears ready to take the next stride and become a playoff contender. The Jaguars do not have an easy schedule to navigate, but they do have the talent in place to make a postseason push in 2016.