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          Jacksonville Jaguars' 2022 schedule: Brutal midseason stretch will determine season

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterMay 12, 2022, 08:01 PM ET
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

          The season will kick off Thursday, Sept. 8, with the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

          The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games last season, and the final regular-season games will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

          Here's what's in store for the Jaguars:

          Schedule

          Sept. 11: at Washington

          Sept. 18: vs. Indianapolis

          Sept. 25: at Los Angeles Chargers

          Oct. 2: at Philadelphia

          Oct. 9: vs. Houston

          Oct. 16: at Indianapolis

          Oct. 23: vs. New York Giants

          Oct. 30: vs. Denver (Wembley Stadium)

          Nov. 6: vs. Las Vegas

          Nov. 13: at Kansas City

          Nov. 20: Bye

          Nov. 27: vs. Baltimore

          Dec. 4: at Detroit

          Dec. 11: at Tennessee

          Dec. 18: vs. Dallas

          Dec. 22: at New York Jets (TNF)

          Jan. 1: at Houston

          Jan. 7/8: vs. Tennessee

          Strength of schedule: T-26th, .469

          Biggest takeaway

          The Jaguars have a chance to get off to a decent start in the first seven weeks with winnable games against the Washington Commanders, Houston Texans and New York Giants, but their season will be defined by their next four games: Denver Broncos in London, Las Vegas Raiders, at Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. That’s where we’ll see if the Jaguars’ supposedly improved defense -- with the additions of end Travon Walker (the No. 1 pick in April's draft), linebackers Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, and cornerback Darious Williams -- is for real, because they’ll be facing four quarterbacks who have won a combined two Super Bowls and two MVPs and made a combined 18 Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. That’s a brutal stretch.

          Revenge game

          New coach Doug Pederson returns to Philadelphia in Week 4 to face the franchise that he led to the Super Bowl LII championship. It will be his first trip back to Lincoln Financial Field since the Eagles fired him following the 2020 season. According to Elias, Pederson was just the second head coach to be fired within three seasons of winning a Super Bowl (Baltimore fired Don McCafferty in 1972). Even though Philly fans are notorious for not being shy at voicing their displeasure, it’s hard to imagine that Pederson won’t get a warm welcome – at least at first. He helped the franchise win its only Super Bowl and gave the city just its third pro sports title since the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 1980.

          What the oddsmakers think

          The oddsmakers have the Jaguars' win total at 6.5. Just having Pederson leading the ship instead of Urban Meyer will make a huge difference, but to hit the over, quarterback Trevor Lawrence has to make major strides in his second season. That doesn’t seem unreasonable, considering he’s not dealing with the dysfunction that infested the franchise under Meyer, the fact that Pederson has given him three assistants who were former college or pro quarterbacks, and the team added receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram in free agency.

          Bold prediction

          The Jaguars, who have won only four games the past two seasons combined, will snap two long losing streaks by beating Washington on the road in the season opener. They’ve lost 17 consecutive road games dating back to a victory in Oakland on Dec. 15, 2019, and they’ve lost 16 consecutive games against NFC teams dating back to beating the Giants in the 2018 season opener.