The Jacksonville Jaguars have won four of their last five, setting up a Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans that will decide who wins the AFC South. That makes Sunday's Week 17 game against the Houston Texans far less important, but the Jaguars have no plans on resting their starters. Ever.
"There is never a meaningless game," Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson said at Monday's press conference. "Never, ever, ever, ever. We play to win every game and the only way I rest players is if they're hurt and can't go."
So expect all Jacksonville starters to be playing for the New Year's Day game.
As for this week, the Texans are 2-12-1 but are coming off a shocking win over the Titans last week, which followed games against the Cowboys and Chiefs where Houston was surprisingly close to pulling off upsets.
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The Week 18 game will be the division decider due to Jacksonville getting hot at the same time the banged-up Titans have gotten ice cold, losing their last five games. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 36-22 on Dec. 11 in their first meeting of the year. Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill is most likely done for the season with an ankle injury, meaning Malik Willis will likely be the starter.
Has Pederson always held the same view about resting starters that he does now? It's up for debate, since in his final game as Eagles coach he benched Jalen Hurts for Nate Sudfeld, and also rested starters for the Eagles' 2017 regular season finale.
