You don’t need a four-year scheduling gap to make a Jaguars vs Patriots game feel like a measuring-stick Sunday – these two have plenty of playoff-round history to lean on. Today, September 27, 2026, Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots kicks off NFL Week 3 from EverBank Stadium, and for once both sides walk in with real expectations instead of just circling the date on the calendar.
The Jaguars are trying to build on a 13-win breakthrough season that ended in the playoffs, with second-year head coach Liam Coen and second-year general manager James Gladstone still adding pieces around Trevor Lawrence. The Patriots, meanwhile, arrive as the reigning AFC Champions, a team that went from 4-13 to a Super Bowl appearance in Mike Vrabel’s first year on the job. Both teams sit at 1-1 heading into Week 3, which makes this Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots matchup feel less like a scheduling formality and more like an early-season gut check for two AFC contenders.
Here’s what matters going in: where each team stands right now, a full look at the head-to-head history between these franchises, a breakdown of the last time these two shared a field, how to watch today’s game, and a rundown of the storylines shaping this NFL Week 3 clash. Whether you call it a Jaguars vs Patriots showdown or a Patriots vs Jaguars road test, the stakes are the same for both sides on this NFL Week 3 slate.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Building Off a Playoff Breakthrough
Jacksonville isn’t the team that used to be an afterthought in the AFC South. Owner Shad Khan’s decision to bring in Liam Coen and James Gladstone last year has already paid off in a big way – the Jaguars went 13-4, won the division, and made the playoffs before falling to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. Coen and Gladstone brought back all three coordinators this offseason, betting that continuity beats another round of turnover.
Trevor Lawrence remains the centerpiece, and the front office spent last year’s draft capital wisely, landing two-way standout Travis Hunter in a trade that sent Jacksonville’s first-round pick to Cleveland. The Jaguars did lose running back Travis Etienne Jr. to New Orleans in free agency, but second-year back Bhayshul Tuten has stepped into a lead role, backed up by free-agent addition Chris Rodriguez Jr.
What Makes Jacksonville’s Offense Tick
- Trevor Lawrence distributing the ball to a receiving corps built around Travis Hunter and a deepening wideout room
- Bhayshul Tuten taking over the backfield workload after Etienne’s departure, with Chris Rodriguez Jr. in relief
- Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, back for year two, running a scheme that leans on tempo and matchup hunting
- A defense under Anthony Campanile that carried the Jaguars through a 13-win 2025 season
Jacksonville Jaguars Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | AFC South |
| Franchise QB | Trevor Lawrence |
| Head coach | Liam Coen (2nd season) |
| GM | James Gladstone (2nd season) |
| Identity | Fast-rising roster built through aggressive drafting and trades |
| Recent form | 13-4 in 2025, AFC South champions, Wild Card loss to Buffalo |
| 2026 season start | 1-1 after a Week 1 win over Cleveland and a Week 2 loss to Denver |
The Jaguars opened 2026 with a win over the Browns before blowing a lead in a tough loss to the Broncos in Week 2, a game head coach Liam Coen called on “intentional improvements” needed heading into this Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots matchup. Jacksonville still sits atop the AFC South at 1-1, but Sunday’s game against a New England Patriots defense that’s been stingy through two weeks is the Jaguars’ toughest test yet.
New England Patriots: Defending AFC Champions
New England’s turnaround under Mike Vrabel has been one of the fastest in recent NFL memory. After finishing 4-13 in 2024 under Jerod Mayo, the Patriots hired Vrabel, and the results were immediate – a 14-3 regular season, a division title, and a run all the way to Super Bowl LX, where New England fell to Seattle 29-13. Drake Maye, the centerpiece of that turnaround, nearly won NFL MVP in his second season, throwing for over 4,000 yards behind offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
That success hasn’t made this New England Patriots roster complacent. GM Eliot Wolf added pieces around Maye this offseason, though the team lost a key offensive addition to an ankle injury in Week 1. New England opened the season with a loss to Seattle – Maye threw three interceptions in that one – before bouncing back with a 20-3 blowout of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 behind a defense that’s been the story of the season so far.
What Makes New England’s Offense Tick
- Drake Maye’s arm and legs running Josh McDaniels’ scheme, coming off a near-MVP 2025 season
- A defense that’s allowed just 13 points per game through two weeks, anchored by Milton Williams and Christian Barmore up front
- Hunter Henry as a reliable safety valve underneath, with the receiving corps still finding its rhythm
- Mike Vrabel’s program-building approach, now in year two after last season’s Super Bowl run
New England Patriots Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | AFC East |
| Franchise QB | Drake Maye |
| Head coach | Mike Vrabel (2nd season) |
| GM | Eliot Wolf |
| Identity | Physical defense paired with a rapidly ascending young QB |
| Recent form | 14-3 in 2025, AFC Champions, Super Bowl LX runners-up |
| 2026 season start | 1-1 after a Week 1 loss to Seattle and a 20-3 Week 2 win over Pittsburgh |
New England’s defense has been the headline through the first two weeks – a unit that held Seattle to 13 points and then shut Pittsburgh down almost entirely in a 20-3 win. That’s the version of the New England Patriots that Jacksonville has to deal with today, and it’s a much different challenge than the one the Jaguars offense faced against Cleveland or Denver.
NFL Week 3 Schedule: Where This Game Fits
Kickoff for today’s Jaguars vs Patriots game is 1:00 p.m. ET from EverBank Stadium, broadcast on CBS47 locally with the game also streaming on Paramount+. It’s the marquee early matchup on an NFL Week 3 slate that features both AFC South and AFC East teams looking to establish themselves this early into the season. On the broader Patriots schedule and Jaguars schedule, this is the first time these two divisions have crossed paths so early in the year.
| Team | Next Matchup | Date | Location |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | at New York Giants | Sun, Oct 4 | Away |
| New England Patriots | at New York Giants | Sun, Oct 4 | Away |
Looking at the Jaguars schedule beyond this week, Jacksonville heads to New York to face the Giants, while the Patriots schedule sends New England to the same opponent the following week – a coincidence of the rotation that puts both teams on similar paths out of this NFL Week 3 showdown. Fans tracking the full Patriots schedule and Jaguars schedule for playoff seeding purposes will want to keep an eye on how both teams handle this stretch of games.
Head-to-Head History: The Full Timeline
This series goes back to 1996, the Jaguars’ second year of existence, and it has been lopsided in New England’s favor for most of that stretch – including some of the most significant games in franchise history for both sides.
| Date | Winner | Location | Score | Notes |
| 10/20/2024 | Jaguars | Home (London) | 32-16 | Jaguars’ largest margin of victory in the series |
| 09/16/2018 | Jaguars | Home | 31-20 | Last Jaguars win in Jacksonville |
| 09/27/2015 | Patriots | Away | 51-17 | Highest combined point total in series history |
| 12/23/2012 | Patriots | Away | 23-16 | |
| 12/27/2009 | Patriots | Home | 35-7 | |
| 12/24/2006 | Patriots | Away | 24-21 | |
| 01/21/2018 | Patriots | Home | 24-20 | AFC Championship Game |
| 01/12/1997 | Patriots | Home | 20-6 | AFC Championship Game; lowest combined point total in series |
| 01/03/1999 | Jaguars | Away | 25-10 | Wild Card playoff; Jaguars’ only postseason win in the series |
| 01/08/2006 | Patriots | Home | 28-3 | Divisional playoff |
| 01/12/2008 | Patriots | Home | 31-20 | Divisional playoff |
Across all 15 meetings (including five playoff games), the New England Patriots lead the all-time series 12-3, with an 8-2 edge in the regular season and a 4-1 record in the postseason. Total points across the series: Patriots 413, Jaguars 266.
A Few Things Worth Pointing Out
- Five of the fifteen meetings between these two have come in the playoffs, including two AFC Championship Games
- The Patriots are a perfect 9-0 against the Jaguars in New England, including 4-0 in the playoffs there
- Jacksonville’s only trip to a Super Bowl-clinching moment against New England ended in defeat both times these franchises met in a conference title game
- The Jaguars’ 32-16 win in London in 2024 is New England’s largest margin of defeat in the series
- New England’s largest margin of victory was 40 points, set on January 2, 2022
Three Eras of the Rivalry
Break this series down and it splits into three fairly distinct stretches.
Era 1: New England’s Early Dominance (1996-2009) The Patriots won the first six regular-season meetings and both playoff games in this stretch, including the 1996 AFC Championship Game that sent Bill Parcells’ Patriots to the Super Bowl. Jacksonville’s lone bright spot was a 25-10 upset in the 1999 Wild Card round.
Era 2: The Brady-Manning Playoff Years (2005-2008) New England beat Jacksonville in back-to-back divisional playoff games during this run, part of the Patriots’ broader AFC dominance through the Tom Brady era.
Era 3: The Modern Matchups (2012-Present) Jacksonville’s only two wins in this era have both come on the road – a 31-20 statement win in 2018 and last year’s 32-16 blowout in London. Today’s Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots game adds another chapter to this stretch, with both franchises walking in from very different recent trajectories than in years past – Jacksonville now the ascending roster, New England the newly minted AFC Champion trying to defend its conference crown.
New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars Match Player Stats: The Last Meeting
With today’s outcome still to be decided, the last time these two teams played is the best snapshot available – and it’s still the most one-sided result in New England’s favor to fall the other way, a 32-16 Jaguars win at Wembley Stadium on October 20, 2024.
Both teams entered that game 1-5, but Jacksonville pulled away in the second quarter, scoring 22 unanswered points, including Parker Washington’s 97-yard punt return – the longest touchdown in the history of NFL games played internationally.
Passing Leaders
- Trevor Lawrence (JAX): Multiple touchdown passes, including a 58-yard strike to Brian Thomas Jr.
- Drake Maye (NE): Led an opening touchdown drive before New England’s offense stalled
Rushing Leaders
- Tank Bigsby (JAX): Two rushing touchdowns, including a go-ahead score
- Rhamondre Stevenson (NE): Contributed on New England’s opening drive
Receiving Leaders
- Brian Thomas Jr. (JAX): Touchdown catch plus a 58-yard reception that set up another score
- Parker Washington (JAX): 97-yard punt return touchdown, the signature play of the game
That result came during a rough patch for both franchises before each turned its season around under new leadership the following year. It’s also the last time these two shared a field before today’s Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots rematch, and it remains the standard by which this Patriots vs Jaguars series is measured heading into 2026.
New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars Match Player Stats: Season So Far
Before diving into today’s stat lines, it’s worth setting the table with how each quarterback has performed through two weeks. This New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars match player stats comparison shows two offenses still searching for consistency, even with one of them carrying Super Bowl pedigree into Week 3.
| Stat (through Week 2) | Trevor Lawrence (JAX) | Drake Maye (NE) |
| Completion % | Around 65% | Around 60%, weighed down by a 3-INT opener |
| Passing TDs | 2 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 3 |
| Rushing Impact | Limited but efficient | Adds a running threat behind the line |
Both quarterbacks will be looking to clean up their New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars match player stats line this week – Lawrence trying to build on a strong opener, and Maye trying to move past his rocky Week 1 outing against Seattle.
Where Both Teams Stand Entering Today’s Game
Two weeks into the 2026 season, both rosters have shown flashes and taken lumps. New England’s defense has been the headline, holding opponents to just 13 points per game across two contests. Jacksonville’s offense has been more inconsistent, with a strong Week 1 showing against Cleveland followed by a letdown against Denver.
| Stat | Jacksonville Jaguars | New England Patriots |
| Record | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Points Per Game | 20.0 | 15.0 |
| Points Allowed Per Game | 20.0 | 13.0 |
| Division Standing | 1st, AFC South | 2nd (tied), AFC East |
| 2025 Finish | 13-4, AFC South champs | 14-3, AFC Champions |
New England’s defense enters this Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots matchup as the clear strength on paper, while the Jaguars will lean on a Trevor Lawrence offense that’s shown it can move the ball but needs to clean up the mistakes that cost them in Denver. This New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars match player stats snapshot suggests a low-scoring, field-position battle is more likely than a shootout.
New England Patriots vs Jacksonville Jaguars Match Player Stats: Storylines to Watch
Beyond the final score, a handful of individual and unit matchups will shape how this NFL Week 3 game plays out. Trevor Lawrence will be tested by a Patriots front that includes Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, two of the best interior pass rushers Jacksonville has faced this season. On the other side, Drake Maye will look to bounce back from his three-interception Week 1 outing against a Jaguars secondary that’s had its share of ups and downs through two games.
Jacksonville’s offensive line, particularly on the interior, has been flagged as a concern heading into this Jaguars vs Patriots matchup, while New England is dealing with its own injury questions up front after losing starting right guard Mike Onwenu. Both defensive coordinators, Anthony Campanile for Jacksonville and the Patriots’ staff under Mike Vrabel, will be looking to force the kind of turnovers that swung last week’s results in opposite directions for these two teams. In a Patriots vs Jaguars game this close on paper, those trench battles could end up mattering more than either team’s marquee names.
Coaching Matchup: Coen vs. Vrabel
Neither of these coaches has faced the other before, and this NFL Week 3 meeting pits two very different second-year stories against each other. Liam Coen is coming off a 13-win debut season that ended in the playoffs, while Mike Vrabel just guided New England to a Super Bowl appearance in his own first year in Foxborough.
| Factor | Jacksonville (Coen) | New England (Vrabel) |
| Experience level | 2nd season, playoff appearance | 2nd season, AFC Champion |
| Offensive identity | Tempo-based scheme built around Lawrence | Balanced attack built around Maye |
| Staff pedigree | Grant Udinski (OC), Anthony Campanile (DC) | Josh McDaniels (OC) |
| Program status | Ascending playoff contender | Reigning conference champion |
Both programs enter this Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots game with something to prove – Jacksonville wants to show last season wasn’t a one-year spike, and New England wants to show its Super Bowl run wasn’t a fluke even after a tough loss to open the year.
Betting Angle: What the Odds Say
Given both teams sit at 1-1 with very different offensive and defensive profiles, oddsmakers have treated this as one of the more competitive games on the NFL Week 3 slate. New England’s defensive performance against Pittsburgh has shifted some market confidence toward the Patriots, even on the road, while Jacksonville’s home-field advantage at EverBank Stadium and its “Prowler” throwback uniforms for the first time this season have given the Jaguars a boost with the home crowd.
Expert predictions across major outlets have been split down the middle for this Patriots vs Jaguars matchup, with some picking New England’s defense to carry the day and others banking on Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense finding its footing at home. Several NFL.com analysts sided with Jacksonville in this Patriots vs Jaguars pick, citing the Jaguars’ interior offensive line as the swing factor against New England’s Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. Both teams have real playoff aspirations this season, which has made this one of the more closely scrutinized games of the NFL Week 3 schedule.
Where to Watch NFL Games (Jaguars & Patriots Included)
- National/local broadcast: CBS47 has today’s Jaguars vs Patriots game at 1:00 p.m. ET
- Streaming: Paramount+ carries it live; NFL+ covers the out-of-market crowd
- Location: EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
- Jacksonville’s radio coverage: 1010XL, 92.5 FM and 99.9 FM handle Jaguars broadcasts
- New England’s radio coverage: The Patriots Radio Network carries New England’s road games
Given how both the Jaguars schedule and the Patriots schedule shape up the rest of this season, with both teams facing a run of playoff-caliber opponents, this early measuring-stick game carries more weight than a typical September matchup.
What’s Next for Both Teams
Jacksonville is trying to prove that last year’s 13-win breakthrough was the start of something, not a peak. Whatever happens today, the Jaguars schedule sends Jacksonville on the road to face the Giants next, with Trevor Lawrence and a retooled roster looking to build consistency.
New England, fresh off its first Super Bowl appearance since Tom Brady’s departure years earlier, is trying to show that Drake Maye’s near-MVP 2025 season carries over into a new year. The Patriots schedule also points New England toward the Giants next, giving both AFC contenders a chance to measure themselves against the same NFC East opponent in back-to-back weeks.
Check Also: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals | Los Angeles Rams vs New York Giants
Quick FAQs
New England, by a wide margin – the Patriots hold a 12-3 edge across 15 all-time meetings, including the playoffs.
Yes, five times, including the 1996 and 2017 AFC Championship Games, with New England winning four of the five.
October 20, 2024, when the Jaguars beat the Patriots 32-16 at Wembley Stadium in London.
September 16, 2018, a 31-20 win for Jacksonville at home.
Different divisions and the NFL’s scheduling rotation mean the Jaguars and Patriots typically cross paths only every few years outside the playoffs.
EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS47 and Paramount+.
Two 1-1 teams off very different 2025 seasons – a rising Jaguars roster and a Patriots team defending last year’s Super Bowl run.
Close call. Maye has the near-MVP season and Super Bowl trip; Lawrence has quietly built a playoff roster of his own in Jacksonville.
A win pushes either team above .500 for the first time in 2026, with the Giants up next on both schedules.
Source: NFL
