The NFL playoffs this time around are wide open. Without Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, or Lamar Jackson, the competition feels more even than ever. That’s why many are backing the Seattle Seahawks as favorites to come out of the NFC, including the Kelce brothers.
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It’s hard not to like Seattle. They have a stout defense and a quarterback (Sam Darnold) with a compelling story. Still, other teams have also emerged as popular Super Bowl picks from that conference, such as the LA Rams, the 49ers, the Bears, and of course, the Eagles.
That said, while most of the focus has been on the NFC, there is one AFC team flying largely under the radar. They have dominated their conference, secured home-field advantage in the Wild Card round, won eight straight games to close the season, and are firing on all cylinders. That team is none other than the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom both Jason and Travis Kelce view as a dark-horse contender.
“It’s gotta be Jacksonville, right? That’s the one that has the energy and the momentum right now. Even though they’re a three seed, which their record shows that they’re one of the top teams in the league, it’s kind of like they’re unproven,” Travis noted on the New Heights podcast (timestamp: 21:00).
The Jags are indeed the definition of unproven. They have a first-year head coach, a QB who’s only ever won one playoff game, and are appearing in the playoffs for just the third time since 2008. They’re about as inexperienced as a team can get for the playoffs. In fact, they’ve never made an appearance in the Big Game yet.
But that’s exactly why they make the perfect dark horse candidate. They’ve been playing well, and nobody has mentioned them as a serious Super Bowl candidate. As of now, they have the 7th-best odds to win it all when compared to the rest of the field.
“Nobody has really been talking about Jacksonville. They’re the darkest one,” Jason said. “They’ve actually been playing the most consistent. I’m kind of with you on this. I don’t think they’re going to win, but they are the dark horse.”
When it’s all laid out like this, it’s hard to disagree with the Kelce brothers. Jacksonville’s offense has been flying high as of late, and Trevor Lawrence has been on fire. In his last six games, he’s thrown 15 TDs and just 1 INT, while adding 4 TDs on the ground. He’s been the catalyst behind the club’s run.
Whether the Jags can go on and win it all is another matter entirely, though. Pressure has to factor in at some point during the playoffs. And while it’s fun to imagine Jacksonville making a run to the Big Game, they will have to overcome pressure-packed moments that some of their players have never experienced before.
That’s why, at the end of the day, we tend to side with the Kelce brothers. The Jags are most certainly the biggest dark-horse candidate in the playoffs. But saying they will win the Super Bowl still seems a bit foolish. Teams with more experience should be able to topple them at some point. Before February at least.
