By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Do the Jacksonville Jaguars have a legitimate shot to make the Super Bowl?

This question would have sounded absurd not long ago but it feels increasingly reasonable with each passing week.

The Jaguars are no longer sneaking up on anyone. They just won their sixth straight game and did something the franchise had never done before by beating a 12-win team this late in the season.

They snapped Denver’s 11 game winning streak at Mile High Stadium and did it convincingly.

That alone forces the league to take notice even if Jacksonville insists it does not care who is paying attention.

Head coach Liam Coen has embraced the idea of being overlooked. He has turned perceived disrespect into fuel and history shows that approach can carry a team a long way.

The 2017 Eagles built an entire championship run on an “us against the world” mentality and Jacksonville is clearly tapping into something similar.

The quotes coming out of that locker room are not polished or cautious. They are raw, confident and unified. That matters in January.

More importantly, the Jaguars are playing their best football at exactly the right time. They have won seven of their last eight games, and the six-game winning streak is the longest the franchise has seen since the turn of the millennium.

This is also the first 11-win season since 2007, and with games remaining against the Colts and Titans there is a real chance Jacksonville finishes 13-4. That kind of record demands respect regardless of market size or preseason expectations.

See what I did there, Sean Payton?

The biggest reason for belief is Trevor Lawrence. He is on a four-game heater that rivals any quarterback in the league right now. Twelve touchdowns no interceptions over that stretch, plus production with his legs tells a powerful story.

He just dismantled a Denver defense that was supposed to be among the toughest in football. Lawrence looks confident, decisive and aggressive, which was not always the case earlier in the season.

There is still reason for caution, of course. This is still a relatively small sample size.

Before this run, Lawrence endured a rough stretch that included multiple interceptions and uneven accuracy. His completion percentage for the season is not elite and that cannot be ignored.

The fair question is which version of Lawrence shows up in the playoffs.

But here is the counterargument.

Teams are judged by who they are becoming, not who they were in October. Right now, Lawrence is seeing the field well and the offense is in sync.

The trade for Jakobi Meyers has quietly changed everything. Since his arrival the Jaguars are 6 and 1 and have scored at least 25 points in every game.

Meyers may not post gaudy numbers but he stabilizes the passing game and gives Lawrence a reliable option when it matters.

Zooming out to the entire AFC picture makes Jacksonville’s case even stronger. Ask yourself which teams truly inspire fear.

New England, Denver, Buffalo, the Chargers, Houston and Pittsburgh all have flaws.

Jacksonville has already beaten Denver and the Chargers by double digits, swept the AFC West and split with Houston, despite not playing its best football at the time. There is no dominant juggernaut blocking the path.

Defensively the Jaguars are not perfect. They can miss tackles and give up chunk plays. But they lead the AFC in turnovers. The unit is young, talented, and have shown a knack for rising to the moment in big games.

Add in an improving pass rush and a coaching staff that has clearly changed the culture, and you have the makings of a dangerous postseason team. This feels like one of those seasons that fans remember forever.

Whether Jacksonville reaches the Super Bowl or falls short, this group has already changed the trajectory of the franchise. Still, it is hard to shake the feeling that something special is brewing.

The Jaguars have the quarterback, the belief, the momentum, and the opportunity.

In a year defined by parity, there is no reason to think the Jacksonville Jaguars cannot be the team still standing at the end. The hype train may just be getting started.