5 Things on the Jaguars’ 2026 NFL Schedule Wishlist

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Later this evening, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the rest of their NFL will at last have their 2026 schedules. Just like any team, the Jaguars should be crossing their fingers for a few things to go their way.

While we do know two of the Jaguars' 18 slots -- their London games vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans -- there is still plenty to be sorted out about the rest of their schedule.

So, what shbould the Jaguars have at the top of their schedule wishlist ahead of Thursday night's schedule release? We break it down below.

A Week 1 Road Game

The Jaguars are set to have nine road games and eight home games this season, but two of those home games is set to be played in London with the Jaguars as the designated home team. This means of the Jaguars' 17 games, only six are going to be played at EverBank Stadium. That is going to be an odd sight made even odder by the Jaguars' reduced capacity during renovations, but the larger point is that the Jaguars may benefit from more road games earlier in the season.

The Jaguars hosted the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 1 last season, but they would be better off against the road this time around. If the Jaguars open the season at home, that means they will play in Jacksonville in just five of their last 16 games. Opening with some road games early in the season would only help the Jaguars, who should hope to have at least three home games in the final seven or so weeks of the regular season.

If the Jaguars can get road games in Week 1 and then Week 4, they could get through a potential Week 7 bye and still have four home games left for the final two-month stretch of the season. That seems like it would be a winning scenario.

Face the Denver Broncos in December

It seems like if there is a time to play at Mile High Stadium, it is later in the season. The Broncos' winning percentages are lower in November and December than they are in September and October, and the Jaguars' own road win over the Broncos came late in the season a year ago. Getting the Broncos toward the second-half of the schedule for the second-year in a row would seem like a win for the Jaguars, even with other questions on hand.

The largest question among those is Bo Nix, whose ankle injury has given him a yet-to-be-determined timeline to come back 100%. Playing the Broncos later in the season would suggest Nix would be back in the lineup for an extended period time. The Jaguars had no issues with Nix last year, though, and they should feel positive about matching up with him regardless of when this game is played.

At Least 2 Primetime Games

The Jaguars have gotten more love in primetime slots in recent years, and there are reasons to think that can continue after the season they had a year ago. The Jaguars were one of the NFL's best stories, had Coach of the Year and MVP finalists leading the charge, and have a bonafide superstar in cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. With the Jaguars on the rise, now is the best time yet to showcase the Jaguars.

That is not to say Jacksonville should expect a multitude of primetime slots, but something like the 2023 season would make sense. The Jaguars hosted Monday and Sunday Night Football games that season, and that was only after going 9-8 the year before and winning a bad AFC South. What the Jaguars did last year was more impressive than that, and they should be repaid in two primetime games.

The New York Giants in Week 4

As Jaguars president Mark Lamping described in February, the Jaguars could get a chance to get a potentially month-long gap to have uninterrupted construction and renovations at EverBank Stadium if the schedule falls a certain way. They will get at least two weeks of this time secured with the two weeks they play in London, and the bye week could factor into it as well. In a best-case scenario, this would mean a road game for the Jaguars in Week 4.

The Jaguars' road schedule is quite daunting this season, especially compared to the slate of road foes they played last season when they went 6-2 on the road. The one foe on the Jaguars' road schedule that does not appear to be a serious playoff contender this year is the New York Giants, which would make them the ideal Week 4 road foe for the Jaguars.

Landing a playoff team like the Denver Broncos or Chicago Bears in Week 4 would not be something the Jaguars couldn't overcome, of course, but a young and still-rebuilding Giants team would tee the Jaguars off nicely for the Eagles and Texans.

A Week 7 Bye Week

With the Jaguars set to play in London in Weeks 5 and 6, there is a good chance for the Jaguars to buck their recent trend with bye weeks and dual London contests. In both 2023 and 2024, the Jaguars did not have a bye week after playing back-to-back weeks in London. By comparison, the Jaguars got a bye week the week after their London game in 2025, 2021, 2019, and in 2018.

They did not get bye weeks in 2022 and 2017, and 2020 was the COVID year. Otherwise, the Jaguars normally have gotten bye weeks after London. There is some incentive for the Jaguars to get the bye week after these games, which would be a boost both for their construction timeline on stadium renovations and for the sheer fact the Jaguars would get a break after playing two playoff teams overseas.

Getting a bye week in Week 7 would only be a one-week change from where the Jaguars' bye week was slotted last year, so it would not change much in terms of the Jaguars' schedule cadence. This feels like the right week for the bye,

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