John Pluym#82 of 87 NFL pundits · Nov 1, 2026
Pluym argues the 6-2 Jaguars have leveled up and belong in the conversation for the AFC's top seed, with their soft upcoming schedule making a 9-2 start through November realistic and the AFC South effectively theirs.
Published in writing · Sports IllustratedRead the original
What John Pluym said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromBeing 9–2 going into December is a distinct possibility.
- Where it was published
- Sports Illustrated
- The piece
- NFL Week 8 Good, Bad Ugly: Why the Jaguars Could Be AFC’s Best
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Season Win Totals“If Lamar Jackson is hurt, Jacksonville is facing the Jackson-less Ravens on Thursday night before games against the Titans, Giants and Titans again. Being 9–2 going into December is a distinct possibility.”
- 2Jacksonville Jaguars to win the division“the Jaguars are now 6–2 and in firm control of the AFC South, with no other team having fewer than five losses. Now, it's more about whether Jacksonville can win the race for the AFC's top seed than whether it can win the divisional title for a second consecutive season.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “If Lamar Jackson is hurt, Jacksonville is facing the…”1 | Season Win Totals | — | — | — | — | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars to win the division2 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 1 waiting · 1 too vague to check | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
2 claims — 1 division winner and 1 season win total — the one we can check graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
The one call we can check has not settled yet — it grades once its result is in.
The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Season Win TotalsJacksonville Jaguars
“If Lamar Jackson is hurt, Jacksonville is facing the Jackson-less Ravens on Thursday night before games against the Titans, Giants and Titans again. Being 9–2 going into December is a distinct possibility.”
VerdictToo vague to checkToo vague to check: we could not tell what would count as right, so it stays on the record without a score.
2Division WinnersJacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
AJ Hawk · Game Outcome Picks · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Hawk picked the Jaguars to beat the Ravens on the road, predicting roughly a 17-point margin.Connor "Boston Connor" Campbell · Game Outcome Picks · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Connor believed Baltimore would keep it close but still said Jacksonville wins the game outright.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Wright expects the 49ers to release Brandon Aiyuk once they report, predicts Jacksonville blows out Baltimore on Thursday night, sees the Jaguars finishing around 13-4 or 14-3, and thinks Seattle's defense carries them past Arizona even with Drew Lock starting.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Rogers agreed the Bears have the NFL's best offense, picked Minnesota as the league's best total defense, and picked Jacksonville to beat Baltimore on Thursday night.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 83
Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore.Mark Morales-Smith · Game Outcome Picks · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Within a Week 9 fantasy sleeper column, they state that Jacksonville is almost certain to blow out Baltimore, with the Jaguars running the ball through the second half and fourth quarter.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.