# The Jaguars Already Own the AFC South > One week into 2026, Jacksonville has the division's only win and everyone else looks shaky. - Title: The Jaguars Already Own the AFC South | Shortify - Summary: One week into 2026, Jacksonville has the division's only win and everyone else looks shaky. A blowout Week 1 win matters less for the trophy case than for… - Keywords: nfl, jaguars, afc south, week 1, trevor lawrence, sports, Already, Own, AFC, South, Jacksonville Jaguars On SI - Source: Jacksonville Jaguars On SI — https://si.com/nfl/jaguars/onsi/jacksonville-got-exactly-the-start-they-needed-in-the-afc-south - Published: 2026-09-14T15:32:43+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: nfl, jaguars, afc south, week 1, trevor lawrence, sports ## Same place they left off The 2026 season is barely a week old and Jacksonville is back on top of the AFC South, exactly where they finished last year. > the Jacksonville Jaguars have picked up exactly where they left off: at the top of the AFC South ## One win, three losses Through the first Sunday of the season the AFC South went 1-3. That single win belongs to the Jaguars. ## Cleveland never had a chance Jacksonville beat the Browns 34-10 at EverBank Stadium. Cleveland was not competitive in any phase of the game. > The Browns were no match for the Jaguars in really any area of the game ## The real tests are coming Denver, New England, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Houston are all on the schedule in the coming weeks. Week 1 proved little on its own. ## Only one question matters Every week reduces to the same check: did the Jaguars keep pace with Houston, or pass them outright? > did the Jaguars keep pace with the Houston Texans, if not pass them outright? ## One game decided last year Jacksonville won the division by a single game in 2025. If the two teams stay tight again, Week 1 could be the margin. > The Jaguars won the AFC South last year by that margin ## Houston drew the Bills The Texans opened against Buffalo, a much harder assignment. They lost, and the loss still counts the same in the standings. ## That defense got shredded Houston's defense has been hyped like the 2000 Ravens, then offered no resistance to Josh Allen for four quarters. > it is worth wondering why their defense failed to offer any resistance to Josh Allen all game ## Lawrence looks like an MVP If Houston cannot slow Allen, there is little reason to expect them to shut down a Trevor Lawrence playing at this level. > Trevor Lawrence looks like he is in MVP form ## One loss in a year The last regular-season game Jacksonville lost was a road trip to Houston last season. Since then they have played like one of the best teams in football. > Since then, the Jaguars have looked like one of the best teams in football ## Coen wants his brand The head coach pointed to putting the game away on Jacksonville's terms instead of drifting into someone else's style of football. > making it our brand of football and not playing somebody else's game, playing our game ## Indianapolis is not close The Colts gave up 500-plus yards and 40-plus points to Baltimore, and Daniel Jones looked like Daniel Jones. Chris Ballard has had a decade to fix this. > Chris Ballard has had a decade to build a winning team and just hasn't ## Tennessee is years away Cam Ward could not reach 150 passing yards against a defense that recorded zero interceptions all of last season. > the start of his career has been woeful ## A two-team race, for now It comes down to Jacksonville and Houston, and the Jaguars have already opened a small gap. > the Jaguars have managed to build a small gap ## Key takeaway A blowout Week 1 win matters less for the trophy case than for the tiebreaker math in a division the Jaguars won by a single game last year.