October 31, 2026
October 31, 2026
Jacksonville Jaguars 2025 Season: From Rebuild to AFC South Champions
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2025 season rescued a franchise that had hit bottom. One year earlier, Jacksonville had stumbled to a 4-13 finish that cost head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke their jobs. Twelve months later, the Jaguars stood atop the AFC South at 13-4, riding an eight-game winning streak into the playoffs. No turnaround in team history had arrived faster or felt more complete.
Owner Shahid Khan bet the franchise’s future on two first-time leaders. Liam Coen, fresh off a successful stint as offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, became head coach. James Gladstone, a rising executive from the Los Angeles Rams, took over as general manager. Coen brought Grant Udinski to coordinate the offense and Anthony Campanile to run the defense.
The roster overhaul was aggressive. Tight end Evan Engram left for Denver, safety Andre Cisco joined the Jets, and veteran center Mitch Morse retired. In their place came practical additions such as guard Patrick Mekari, center Robert Hainsey, receiver Dyami Brown, and slot corner Jourdan Lewis. None were headline names, but each filled a specific need in Coen’s blueprint.
Gladstone’s boldest move came on draft night. Jacksonville sent the fifth overall pick, a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick to Cleveland to climb to No. 2. The prize was Travis Hunter, the two-way Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado. The price was steep, and it signaled that the new front office had no interest in a slow rebuild.
The early weeks hinted at something different. The Jaguars handled Carolina 26-10 in the opener, then let a late lead slip in Cincinnati when Jake Browning drove 92 yards for a 31-27 Bengals win. That loss stung, but the response defined the opening month. Jacksonville ground out a 17-10 win over Houston and survived San Francisco 26-21, where Parker Washington’s 87-yard punt return swung the game.
Then came the Monday night that announced the Jaguars to a national audience. Kansas City arrived at EverBank Stadium as the measuring stick of the AFC. Devin Lloyd seized an interception and raced 99 yards for a touchdown, the longest defensive score in franchise history. With the final minute ticking away, Trevor Lawrence stumbled his way into the end zone for a 31-28 victory. Fans quickly dubbed the play the “Stumble-Six.”
The momentum unraveled almost as quickly as it had built. Seattle held the offense without a touchdown in a 20-12 loss at home. A week later in London, the Los Angeles Rams overwhelmed Jacksonville 35-7 at Wembley Stadium. The lone bright spot was Hunter’s first NFL touchdown catch. At 4-3 heading into the bye, the Jaguars looked like a promising team still learning how to finish.
The stretch after the bye tested every belief the new staff had built. In Las Vegas, kicker Cam Little drilled a 68-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, the longest in NFL history. He later forced overtime with a 48-yarder, and DaVon Hamilton batted down the Raiders’ two-point try to seal a 30-29 win.
Houston then delivered the cruelest afternoon of the year. Jacksonville led 29-10 entering the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium and somehow lost 36-29. The 19-point collapse was the largest blown lead in franchise history. Worse news followed when Hunter needed season-ending knee surgery to repair a torn LCL. The front office had already moved to reshape the roster, trading Tyson Campbell for Greg Newsome II and acquiring receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Raiders at the deadline.
That Houston loss could have broken a young team. Instead, it hardened one. The Jaguars crushed the Los Angeles Chargers 35-6, a game in which Josh Hines-Allen passed Tony Brackens for the franchise career sacks record. Little’s 52-yard overtime kick clawed out a 27-24 win in Arizona the following week.
From there, the Jaguars’ 2025 season became a march. Jacksonville held Tennessee to three points in a 25-3 road win and beat Indianapolis 36-19 to seize command of the division. The offense then erupted for 48 points against the New York Jets, the team’s highest total of the year.
The defining win came in the thin air of Denver. The Broncos owned the AFC’s best record and an 11-game winning streak. After Denver tied the game at 17, Lawrence plunged in from the 1 for the go-ahead score. He finished with three touchdown passes, and Washington exploded for a career-high 145 receiving yards in a 34-20 victory. That afternoon proved the Jaguars belonged among the conference’s elite.
Jacksonville closed the regular season by beating Indianapolis 23-17 and routing Tennessee 41-7. In that finale, Little added a 67-yard field goal, the longest outdoor kick in NFL history. The Jaguars finished 13-4 with a 5-1 division record and earned the AFC’s No. 3 seed. Thirteen wins marked the franchise’s best total since 1999. Full results are archived at Pro Football Reference.
The Wild Card Round brought Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills to EverBank Stadium. The game swung back and forth through four tense quarters. Jacksonville was stopped on a fourth-and-2 near the goal line, and Little’s 54-yard try at halftime clanged off the left upright.
The fourth quarter was a heavyweight exchange. Lawrence found Washington for a 17-13 lead, and Buffalo answered with a Dalton Kincaid touchdown. Lawrence then hit Travis Etienne Jr. from 14 yards out to put the Jaguars back in front, 24-20, with just over four minutes left. Allen answered with a 66-yard drive and a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:04 remaining. On Jacksonville’s final possession, a tipped pass intended for Meyers fell to Cole Bishop for an interception, and the Bills held on 27-24. The official box score shows how narrow the margin was.
Lawrence delivered the finest season of his career. He threw for 4,007 yards and 29 touchdowns while adding 359 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground. His 38 total touchdowns set a franchise single-season record. He earned recognition as a finalist for the AP NFL Awards, as did Coen, according to the Associated Press.
Etienne revived his career with 1,107 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in Coen’s balanced scheme. Washington emerged as the top receiver with 58 catches for 847 yards. Brian Thomas Jr. added 707 receiving yards, and tight end Brenton Strange became a reliable target. The offense ranked sixth in the league with 27.9 points per game.
Campanile’s unit thrived by taking the ball away. The Jaguars set a franchise record with 22 interceptions, led by Lloyd and safety Antonio Johnson with five apiece. Lloyd earned second-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl selection. Hines-Allen led the pass rush with eight sacks. Long snapper Ross Matiscik was named a first-team All-Pro, a fitting nod to a special teams unit that kept rewriting the record book. Player profiles and honors are available on the Jaguars’ official website.
The Jaguars’ 2025 season ended a week too soon, but its meaning stretched far beyond one January loss. Coen and Gladstone took a 4-13 team and turned it into a division champion in a single year. Lawrence finally played like the franchise quarterback Jacksonville had drafted him to be. Little turned long field goals into a weapon no opponent could ignore.
The Hunter trade will be judged over many years, and his injury left that story unfinished. Still, the foundation was unmistakable. The Jaguars’ 2025 season gave a long-suffering fan base its best year in a generation, and it put the rest of the AFC on notice. Season-by-season context for the franchise can be explored through NFL.com.
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