JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history comes to a close this weekend, there remains one small, positive thing the Jacksonville Jaguars can accomplish.
By beating the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX), the Jaguars can clinch a winning record in the AFC South for just the fifth time -- and a third season in a row.
"To finish that way, to finish strong, it sends a good message to the team that you can still have a hold on your division if you do that next week," head coach Doug Pederson said after the Jaguars' 20-13 victory over Tennessee on Sunday. "You've got to win the game, obviously, [it] shows you can kind of control [the division].
"... It will be a good message to the guys if we can accomplish that."
The Jaguars wouldn't really control the AFC South with a victory on Sunday because the Houston Texans can go 5-1 with a victory at Tennessee. Even if the Titans pull off the upset and both teams finish 4-2, the Texans swept the season series against the Jaguars. Houston has already won the division for the second consecutive season.
The Jaguars' season has fallen apart because of injuries (including season-enders to quarterback Trevor Lawrence, receiver Christian Kirk, and tight end Evan Engram), a defense that ranks last in passing yards allowed (357.7 per game) and turnovers (nine) and 31st in yards allowed (387.5 per game), and a free agent class that has made minimal impact. The Jaguars also are 3-9 in one-score games - the nine losses are tied for the most in a single season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
Considering all of that, beating the Colts in Indianapolis would allow the players at least one bit of positivity heading into an offseason that could include a coaching and general manager change, defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said.
"The whole season hasn't been where we wanted it to be, but if we can dominate our division -- we win that game and we're 4-2 in our division -- we can hold our heads up high, knowing that we keep handling our business in the division then when we get outside it, we're going to be in a good space," Hines-Allen said.
The Jaguars' 31-21 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium last season snapped a five-game losing streak in Indianapolis. The Jaguars have only won back-to-back road games there once -- the 2011 and 2012 seasons -- and have swept the season series with the Colts just three times (2011, 2017 and last season).
A victory Sunday would be the first time the Jaguars have won back-to-back games since Weeks 11 and 12 of last season.
"I'm glad we beat the Titans," running back Travis Etienne Jr. said. "I remember last year they beat us [and] kept us out of the playoffs, so just being able to sweep them and having the chance to go sweep the Colts is just really exciting. Especially like when it's a division rival. We don't like the guy, they don't like us, and we've just got to go out there and handle business."