Jaguars & Titans See Their Odds to Make NFL Playoffs Improve with Luck Retired

• The Jacksonville Jaguars saw their 2019 NFL playoff odds shorten from +250 to +150 this week
• The playoff odds of the Tennessee Titans improved to +210 from +270
• Andrew Luck’s retirement from the Indianapolis Colts caused this ripple effect on the playoff odds of other AFC South clubs

As luck would have it, the Jacksonville Jaguars are suddenly being offered much better odds of qualifying for the 2019 NFL playoffs.

The same holds true for the Tennessee Titans.

When Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Saturday, it sent shockwaves through the league. It also created a ripple effect on the odds of Indy’s AFC South rivals.

Both the Jags and Titans saw their 2019 NFL Playoff Odds improve.

Jacksonville jumped from odds of +250 on August 22 to today’s odds of +150. Tennessee moved from +270 to +210 over a similar time frame.

Jaguars and Titans’ Odds to Make NFL Playoffs

*Odds taken 8/26/19

Both the Jaguars and Titans missed the playoffs in 2018 but each team was an NFL postseason participant in 2017.

Jaguars Poised for Bounce Back Season?

In 2017, Jacksonville led the AFC South with a 10-6 record. It’s the only time in the last eight seasons that they didn’t post double digits in the loss column.

Jacksonville was actually leading the AFC Championship Game in the fourth quarter before succumbing 24-20 to the New England Patriots.

The highest-graded Jacksonville Jaguars on defense from the 2018 season pic.twitter.com/u2UBskIYM8

— PFF (@PFF) February 24, 2019

During the 2017 season, the Jags toppled the Colts both times they faced them with Jacoby Brissett at QB in place of the injured Luck. Brissett will assume the #1 role again with Luck’s retirement.

Although Jacksonville slumped to 5-11 last season, the Jaguars still fielded the NFL’s #5 defense. And they added another elite playmaking talent to that group when they grabbed Kentucky LB/DE Josh Allen in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Mood. #FiredUpFriday@BonosBBQ | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/ANC2EYtwVL

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 23, 2019

The biggest upgrade with the Jags figures to be when they have the ball. They replaced Blake Bortles and his 79.8 passer rating with Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles. And in preseason play, running back Leonard Fournette is looking more like the guy who rushed for 1,040 yards as a rookie in 2017.

In case you think that bouncing from 11 losses to a playoff team in one fell swoop is too much to ask, three of last season’s playoff teams (Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Colts) made it while coming off double-digit loss seasons.

Pick: Jaguars make playoffs (+150)

Texans Have Issues

The Texans are the defending AFC South champions but Houston has got its problems.

Edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney remains a holdout. He didn’t report on August 24th as he’d originally indicated that he would and now speculation is the All-Pro will be dealt.

Here is the injury to Lamar Miller. Not good. 🙏 https://t.co/Z4L7ZXhtrM

— ACL Recovery Club (@ACLrecoveryCLUB) August 24, 2019

Meanwhile, running back Lamar Miller was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Titans Happily out of Luck

No AFC South team will be more relieved to see the Colts out of Luck than the Titans. Luck was 11-0 against them during his career. No other QB won his first 11 starts against a team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Like the Jaguars, Tennessee was 2-0 against Brissett and the Colts in 2017. But the Titans have other concerns.

Left tackle Taylor Lewan, a Pro Bowl choice in each of the past three seasons, will miss the first four games of the 2019 campaign. He’ll be serving an NFL suspension following a positive test for a banned substance.

https://twitter.com/OCRLEEZ/status/1165655061634191361?s=20

Also at issue is whether Tennessee can get off the treadmill. The Titans have gone 9-7 in each of the past three seasons. They’ve not won the AFC South title since 2008.

Pick: Titans miss playoffs (-250)