CBS’ Jonathan Jones admits national media hasn’t given Jaguars enough credit

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 12-4 and riding a seven-game winning streak, yet it took a road win in Denver for Jonathan Jones to finally buy in.

On Sunday, the CBS Sports analyst admitted the national media — himself included — hadn’t given Jacksonville enough credit during its run. But Jones also acknowledged he needed to see the Jaguars beat a legitimate contender before believing they were for real.

That moment came a week earlier, when Jacksonville went into Denver and snapped the Broncos’ 11-game winning streak.

“I want to say because maybe we in the national media haven’t given the Jaguars enough love as they have gone on this run,” Jones said. “After last week’s run, I was like, ‘OK, I believe in the Jacksonville Jaguars now.’ Once they beat the Denver Broncos, it’s like, ‘Yeah, OK, I’ve seen it now.’ Maybe not against the Colts and maybe not against some of the other teams they faced and beat handily, but last week did it for me.”

“We in the national media haven’t given the Jaguars enough love”@jjones9 says he believes in the Jaguars pic.twitter.com/c1dAH3Dl6K

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 28, 2025

Jones’ comments came after Jacksonville’s 23-17 win over Indianapolis, a game that pushed the Jaguars closer to clinching the AFC South for the first time since 2022. Trevor Lawrence’s stat line — 23-of-37 for 263 yards, no passing touchdowns, one interception — wasn’t the kind that usually sways national opinion. But Lawrence ran for two scores, converted key downs with his legs, and kept the streak alive.

That performance wasn’t what convinced Jones. Denver was.

The Broncos hadn’t lost at home in over a year. They entered that game 12-2 and sitting among the AFC’s elite. Jacksonville walked into Mile High and left with a 34-20 win behind three Lawrence touchdown passes and another on the ground.

“Maybe not against the Colts and maybe not against some of the other teams they beat handily,” Jones said. “But last week did it for me.”

Jacksonville hasn’t exactly had a clean run to 12-4. The Jaguars have spent most of the season without No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter, who’s been out since early in the year, and they were also without running back Bhayshul Tuten on Sunday. That’s forced the offense to operate with less margin for error, and it’s pushed Trevor Lawrence into doing more of the dirty work himself.

When the passing game stalls, Lawrence has turned to his legs. Not in ways that jump off the stat sheet, but in moments that change possessions. That showed up again against Indianapolis. After falling behind 10-0, Lawrence scored on runs of four and six yards to give Jacksonville the lead. Later, with the Colts still within reach, he kept the ball on a fourth-and-1 late in the fourth quarter and converted it, a play that effectively sealed the game.

“I will allow Trevor Lawrence to have a mistake,” Jones said. “I’m OK with that. Especially when they’re down a running back, and they’re still missing their No. 2 pick. He’s getting it done with his legs.”

Jones also pointed to how Jacksonville won without dominating. The Jaguars didn’t overwhelm Indianapolis, but they kept the chains moving, converting third downs and forcing the Colts’ defense to stay on the field longer than it wanted to.

“The thing that stood out to me, while Trevor Lawrence didn’t have an amazing statline, 7-of-14, the Jaguars were on third down,” Jones continued. “So they just kept extending the drives. So that will wear out a good defense, right? That they just couldn’t get off the field. So, credit to the Jaguars. I believed in them after last week. I will allow Trevor Lawrence to have a mistake against a good defense.”

Jones believes in them now. Whether the rest of the national media follows suit depends on what Jacksonville does in the playoffs, but beating Denver forced everyone to at least pay attention.