JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are in unfamiliar territory: playing as heavy favorites.
The Jaguars (9-4) are favored by 13 1/2 points against the New York Jets (3-10) on Sunday, according to BetMGM. It’s the first time since 2007 that Jacksonville has been a two-touchdown-or-more pick by oddsmakers.
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New York Jets wide receiver John Metchie III (3) drops a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) passes against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (3) celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Having won four in a row and five of six since their bye, the Jaguars can’t afford a letdown against the Jets and don’t want to look ahead from their new spot atop the AFC South.
“We just have no room for it at all,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. “Mature football teams don’t let any of that creep into our minds and into our thought process. So that’s the message right now.”
It’s an about-face for a franchise that spent the first three months of the season relishing an underdog role. Beating Houston, Kansas City and San Francisco in consecutive weeks early swayed some. Lopsided wins against the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee and Indianapolis have seemingly opened more eyes recently.
But doubters surely remain, especially since the Jaguars are trying to reach double-digit wins for just the second time in 18 seasons.
“Everyone kind of knows that; it’s not a secret,” Jaguars running back Travis Etienne said. “But if we keep taking care of our job, one day we’ll look back and be like, ‘Dang, there are low-key nice.’”
The Jets, meanwhile, haven’t beaten a team with a winning record this season. They’re coming off a 34-10 home loss to Miami that felt over in the first quarter.
“We have flushed the last game,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “We’re moving forward.”
But with which quarterback?
Tyrod Taylor (groin) and Justin Fields (knee) are dealing with injuries, leaving undrafted rookie Brady Cook to potentially make his first NFL start.
Cook, who threw 49 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in five seasons at Missouri, completed 14 of 30 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions in relief of Taylor last week. It was his first regular-season action.
“Supreme confidence,” running back Breece Hall said of Cook. “He takes every rep in practice like a pro. Once I heard how he came in the huddle and commanded the huddle, I was like, ‘All right, he isn’t nervous, he’ll be all right.’ We could have been better for him.”
The key to Jacksonville’s season has been playing complementary football, with offense, defense and special teams sharing the spotlight. The Jaguars now have a one-game lead in the division with four to play — and little room for error with Houston and Indianapolis lurking.
“Every week is really critical,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “You just look at our division. Our division’s a tight race. It’s not like we’ve got this huge lead and can afford to mess around and lose any game.”
The Jets have not had an interception this season, an NFL record for a team through its first 13 games. It has been a constant topic of discussion and something that has frustrated the entire defense. Meanwhile, the Jaguars have 15 this season, tying them for second in the NFL behind only Chicago’s 18.
“I wish I had the answer to that,” Glenn said when asked what he thinks has been the key to Jacksonville’s success. “But they’re doing a hell of a job. ... They have an attacking style that really puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback, which obviously allows for those picks to happen.”
Jacksonville has played without a number of starters over the course of the season but appears to be as close to healthy as any team could or should expect in mid-December. The Jaguars have only one starter, two-way rookie Travis Hunter, on injured reserve. The team's most concerning injury in Week 15: whether receiver Parker Washington (hip) will play against the Jets.
A week after they allowed Atlanta to run for 167 yards, including 142 by Bijan Robinson, the Jets gave up 239 to the Dolphins.
New York struggled against the run early in the season but seemed to stiffen until the past few games. Missed tackles and blown assignments have been factors.
“If you have 50 plays and you mess up five of them, you’re grading out at 90% and that’s a pretty damn good game,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “But if those five times are all 10-yard runs in your gap, it makes it very difficult. I think the opponent did a really good job of exploiting those small things. ... But that many rushing yards is completely unacceptable.”
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New York Jets wide receiver John Metchie III (3) drops a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) passes against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (3) celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's Republican-led Senate decisively rejected a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party, defying months of pressure from President Donald Trump and delivering a stark setback to the White House ahead of next year's midterm elections.
The vote was overwhelmingly against the proposed redistricting, with more Republicans opposing than supporting the measure, signaling the limits of Trump's influence even in one of the country's most conservative states.
Trump has been urging Republicans nationwide to redraw their congressional maps in an unusual campaign to help the party maintain its thin majority in the House of Representatives. Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not — despite cajoling and insults from the president and the possibility of primary challenges.
“The federal government should not dictate by threat or other means what should happen in our states,” said Spencer Deery, one of the Republican senators who voted no on Thursday.
When the proposal failed 31-19, cheers could be heard inside the chamber as well as shouts of “thank you!” The debate had been shadowed by the possibility of violence, and some lawmakers have received threats.
The proposed map was designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would have effectively erased Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis among four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would have also eliminated the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.
District boundaries are usually adjusted once a decade after a new census. But Trump has described redistricting as an existential issue for the party as Democrats push to regain power in Washington.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media the night before the vote.
The president said anyone who voted against the plan should lose their seats. Half of Indiana senators are up for reelection next year, and the conservative organization Turning Point Action had pledged to fund campaigns against them.
David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, which had backed redistricting, said the vote allowed disloyal Republicans to “stick their finger in the eye of the president of the United States.”
Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels praised senators for “courageous principled leadership" in rejecting the new map.
A Republican who has vocally criticized Trump, Daniels said the outcome was “a major black eye for him and all the Washington groups that piled in, spent money, blustered and threatened.” He added that “this thing rubbed our state the wrong way and Republicans in our state very wrong from the jump.”
Inside the state Senate chamber, Democratic lawmakers spoke out against redistricting ahead of the vote.
“Competition is healthy my friends,” Sen. Fady Qaddoura said. “Any political party on earth that cannot run and win based on the merits of its ideas is unworthy of governing.”
In the hallways outside, redistricting opponents chanted “Vote no!” and “Fair maps!” while holding signs with slogans like “Losers cheat.”
Three times over the fall, Vice President JD Vance met with Republican senators — twice in Indianapolis and once in the White House — to urge their support. Trump joined a conference call with senators on Oct. 17 to make his own 15-minute pitch.
Behind the scenes, James Blair, Trump’s deputy White House chief of staff for political affairs, was in regular touch with members, as were other groups supporting the effort such as the Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA.
“The administration made a full-court press,” said Republican Sen. Andy Zay, who was on the phone with White House aides sometimes multiple times per week, despite his commitment as a yes vote.
Across the country, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, some of the new maps are facing litigation.
In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, saying Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.
Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana’s Senate was uncertain. A dozen of the 50 senators had not publicly committed to a stance ahead of the vote.
Republican Sen. Greg Goode signaled his displeasure with the redistricting plan before voting no. He said some of his constituents objected to seeing their county split up or paired with Indianapolis. He expressed “love” for Trump but criticized what he called “over-the-top pressure” from inside and outside the state.
Sen. Michael Young, another Republican, said the stakes in Washington justify redistricting, as Democrats are only a few seats away from flipping control of the U.S. House in 2026. “I know this election is going to be very close,” he said.
Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill, the redistricting legislation's sponsor, showed Senators maps of congressional districts around the country, including several focused on Democratic-held seats in New England and Illinois. He argued other states gerrymander and Indiana Republicans should play by the same rules.
The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they might vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.
Among them was state Rep. Ed Clere, who said state troopers responded to a hoax message claiming a pipe bomb outside his home Wednesday evening. Indiana state police said “numerous others” received threats but wouldn't offer details about an ongoing investigation.
In an interview, Clere said these threats were the inevitable result of Trump’s pressure campaign and a “winner-take-all mentality.”
“Words have consequences,” Clere said.
Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith awaits the final vote in the results of a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray takes question after a bill to redistrict the state's congressional map was defeated, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Protestors are seen through a window in the Senate Chamber during dissuasion before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A protestor celebrates as they walk outside the Indiana Senate Chamber after a bill to redistrict the state's congressional map was defeated, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith announces the results of a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Nancy Kohn, of Indianapolis, hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Protestors hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
