No team in the NFL dominates opponents like the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After beating the Ravens 33-10 on Thursday night, the Jaguars have now outscored their opponents by a cumulative score of 229-121 this season. That’s a +108 point differential, easily the best in the NFL.
The team with the second-best point differential in the NFL is the 49ers, at +58. The Jaguars’ point differential is 50 points higher than the next best team.
At 6-2, the Jaguars don’t have the best record in the league, as the Bills, 49ers and Vikings all have 6-1 records. The 49ers are favored to beat the Raiders and improve to 7-1, and the Bills and Vikings will face off Monday night, so the winner will be 7-1.
But halfway through the season, points difference is a better indication of a team’s quality and a better indicator of a team’s future success than win-loss record. Indeed, with a sample as small as half a season, a few plays in a few close games can skew the win-loss record, but a few plays don’t skew the point differential. Historically, the teams that prove to be the best over the course of a season are the ones that have a few blowout victories, even if they also lose some close games.
Winning blowouts and losing close games is exactly what the Jaguars do. Both of the Jaguars’ losses were one-possession games that were tied in the fourth quarter, while the Jaguars’ wins included massive blowouts: the Jaguars’ 35-point victory over the Colts was the biggest blowout of this NFL season, their 29-point victory over the Patriots was the fourth-largest blowout in the NFL this season, their 24-point victory over the Browns was the seventh-largest blowout in the NFL this season, and Thursday’s 23-point win over the Ravens was the 11th-biggest blowout in the NFL this season.
The Jaguars have won four games by more than 21 points this season; no other team has more than one victory by more than 21 points.
Jacksonville has a 3.5-game lead in the AFC South, and six of the Jaguars’ remaining nine games are against opponents with a losing record. They’re ready to run away with their division, maybe win the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and maybe knock out some teams in the playoffs, just like they did in the regular season.
Gn sports
