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The 2023 NFL playoffs are nearing, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts remain locked in a three-way tie atop the AFC South at 8-7 heading into Week 17 after they all lost Sunday.

The Jaguars sit in the driver seat, as they would win the division by simply winning their remaining two games, but they are on a four-game losing streak and QB Trevor Lawrence is dealing with lingering injuries.

The Texans, who have been without rookie QB C.J. Stroud for the past two weeks, and the Colts could be looking at a play-in game for the playoffs -- or the division crown if the Jags slip up -- in Week 18 as they are set to face off in the season finale.

Let's take a look at each team's path to an AFC South title and the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Remaining schedule: vs. Panthers (Sunday; 1 p.m. ET, CBS), at Titans (Jan. 7) Chances of winning the division: 42.7% Chances of making the playoffs: 79.0%

What scenario needs to happen to make the playoffs: Houston and Indianapolis play each other in Week 18, so if the Jaguars can put together a competent four quarters and beat the Carolina Panthers (2-13), they'll have a chance to win the AFC South or, if they lose, earn a wild-card berth by beating Tennessee in Week 18.

What's the key to making the playoffs: The Jaguars have to quit making unforced errors on a weekly basis. That's what coach Doug Pederson and multiple players said has been their biggest issue this month. Turnovers, penalties, blown assignments, missed kicks -- Pederson uses the same list every week. They are tied for the league high in turnovers this month (10), and kicker Brandon McManus has made just 20% of his field goal attempts (1-for-5).

Another major issue is the Jaguars getting dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage. So, essentially, the key is completely changing what has become their identity and breaking the current skid on all sides of the ball. Lawrence's health (sprained AC joint) is also something to watch heading into this weekend. -- Michael DiRocco

Indianapolis Colts

Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders (Sunday; 1 p.m. ET, CBS), vs. Texans (Jan. 7) Chances of winning the division: 13.3% Chances of making the playoffs: 47.6%

What scenario needs to happen to make the playoffs: The Colts wasted what leeway they had by losing Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons. That means the most direct route to the postseason now is to win out and reduce the possibility of surprises. Indy is in direct competition with Houston, making the season finale a potentially massive matchup. The Colts already have a win over Houston this year, which could come into play in a tiebreaking scenario if they were to sweep. The Colts also have a tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

What's the key to making the playoffs: The Colts have been all over the map in the past three weeks. They offset a lopsided win over the Steelers in Week 15 with double-digit losses to the Bengals and Falcons in Weeks 14 and 16. They appear to be in an identity crisis and need to find their footing. Are the Colts overachievers who have run out of steam? Or do they have more fight in them? They can start by tightening up their line play (offense and defense), which was surprisingly ineffective against the Falcons. -- Stephen Holder

Houston Texans

Remaining schedule: vs. Titans (Sunday; 1 p.m. ET, FOX), at Colts (Jan. 7) Chances of winning the division: 10.7% Chances of making the playoffs: 37.7%

What scenario needs to happen to make the playoffs: The Texans still control their playoff destiny even if they don't win the division. Houston has the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, so if the Texans win their last two games, the tiebreakers favor them for a wild-card spot.

What's the key to making the playoffs: The key is having a healthy C.J. Stroud for the last two games. The offense without the rookie quarterback lacks juice -- it is averaging 17.5 points without Stroud compared to when it was top 10 in scoring before the Week 14 game that Stroud left because of a concussion. As Stroud remains in the protocol, there has been more optimism of him being cleared to play than in the previous weeks, but if he can't go, the defense isn't healthy enough to carry the team to two wins. -- D.J. Bien-Aime

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a sprained right AC joint, leaving his status for Sunday's game against the Panthers unclear.

Coach Doug Pederson said Lawrence is improving but he's not sure if Lawrence will be able to practice Wednesday, which would mean backup quarterback C.J. Beathard would take the first-team reps again.

"Obviously he's a little bit sore but doing better today than he did yesterday," Pederson said Tuesday afternoon. "We'll see where he is at again tomorrow.

"May do a little something tomorrow but I would doubt that just because it's a little bit too soon, but we'll see as the week goes on."

The Jaguars also added some insurance at the quarterback position Tuesday, signing Matt Barkley off the New York Giants' practice squad.

Barkley hasn't taken a snap in a game since 2020 and is 2-5 as a starter with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills. He has appeared in 19 games and has 11 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions since he was drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013.

To make room for him on the roster the team placed special teams standout Daniel Thomas on injured reserve with a broken left forearm.

Lawrence was hurt when he stretched and dove for a first down on the sideline on a fourth-and-1 play late in the third quarter of the Jaguars' 30-12 loss at Tampa on Sunday. He was shoved by Bucs linebacker Yaya Diaby as he was diving and landed on his right shoulder out of bounds and slid into the Bucs' bench area.

Lawrence stayed in the game to finish the drive, completing 4 of 5 passes, including an 18-yarder to Calvin Ridley for a touchdown.

"When I landed, I knew something was off," Lawrence said. "And the next play it kind of hurts to throw. I wanted to finish the drive out and we were able to get some points, and then on the 2-point [conversion attempt] could tell by the way I threw it I couldn't really get my shoulder up good enough to really keep playing.

"I would've loved to have stayed in but just kind of hurting everybody at that point if I do, so they made the call to just take a seat the rest of the night."

Beathard finished the game and completed 11-of-15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. He would start if Lawrence's doesn't play. Beathard hasn't started a game since the 2020 regular-season finale when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. He has a 2-10 record as a starter, with all the starts coming with the 49ers.

Lawrence had completed 18 of 30 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions and lost a fumble before he left the Bucs game. Per ESPN Stats & Information research, that was Lawrence's eighth career game with three-plus turnovers, which is three more than any other player since Lawrence entered the NFL in 2021. Josh Allen and Mac Jones have five games with three-plus turnovers.

Each week during the regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' communications department publishes a "Game Release" to aid the media in coverage of their upcoming game. Within that release are a number of documents regarding the player roster, including a depth chart, which lists the pecking order at every position on offense, defense and special teams.

Each game week, we will be taking a closer look at that depth chart, pointing out any changes or relevant notes from the previous game. Let's start on offense. Rookies are marked with an asterisk. Players we will be discussing in depth are highlighted in bold text.

OFFENSE

Backup running back Chase Edmonds saw a larger portion of snaps than usual, getting on the field for 24 offensive plays, or 32% of the total. That was his highest usage rate of the season so far, and starter Rachaad White (50 snaps) was given a season-low 68% usage rate. White still led the team with 20 carries and had another six catches on seven targets, but Edmonds had a season-high 10 rushes.

Coming off a big game in Green Bay that included a game-clinching 52-yard catch-and-run, wide receiver David Moore also had a season-high snap total, with 23. He caught his only target for seven yards. Rookie Trey Palmer remained the team's primary third receiver but his snap rate came down a bit from recent weeks to 53%. He was targeted multiple times early in the game and finished with four catches for 42 yards.

Tight end Ko Kieft got 17 snaps on offense, his highest total since Week Two, as the Buccaneers ran 22 plays with at least two tight ends on the field. The Bucs also went to a jumbo package four times, with reserve tackle Justin Skule joining the front as an eligible receiver. Rookie TE Payne Durham also logged 11 snaps in these multiple-TE packages, and had the Bucs' longest catch of the day, a 25-yarder on his only target.

DEFENSE

K.J. Britt made his fourth straight start at linebacker next to Lavonte David, but Devin White also returned to action, and in a big way. White was clearly the choice in nickel packages, and since the Jaguars ended up running nearly 87% of their plays with three receivers on the field that put him in position for a lot of action. By the end of the game, he had logged 63 of a possible 66 defensive snaps, or 95% of the total, while Britt was in for the other three plays. White recorded the first of the Bucs' four defensive takeaways with an interception to end Jacksonville's first drive.

Similarly, Ryan Neal returned to his starting spot at safety but it was Dee Delaney who got the most work opposite Antoine Winfield Jr. Delaney played 60 of the 66 snaps, compared to six for Neal and 20 for rookie Kaevon Merriweather. The Buccaneers also deployed cornerback Zyon McCollum at safety on some early-game downs, but cornerback Carlton Davis suffered a concussion on his 10th snap, which pressed McCollum into service at that spot. Merriweather's snaps came after Winfield left the game to be evaluated for a concussion in the second half. Winfield was deemed not to have a concussion but the coaches didn't feel the need to put him back in the game with the Bucs up big on the scoreboard.

Along the defensive front, rookie Calijah Kancey got the most snaps, with 40. Shaq Barrett topped the edge rushers with 36 snaps, one more than rookie Yaya Diaby. Diaby turned his 35 snaps into 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

SPECIALISTS

Even with a slight uptick in his playing time on offense, Kieft was the Bucs' busiest special-teamer, logging 18 of a possible 20 snaps in that phase of the game. He pitched in with a tackle assist. Moore and outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had 12 and 10 plays on special teams, respectively, and each turned in two solo tackles in kick coverage.

Wide receiver Mike Evans caught two touchdown passes in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 16 win over Jacksonville and is now the NFL's 2023 leader in that category, with 13. He also led the team with seven catches and 86 yards in the game, doing so on just eight targets. As has been the case all season, the connection with Evans and quarterback Baker Mayfield has been one of the most reliable aspects of the Buccaneers' offense.

A week after winning an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for his "perfect game" in Green Bay, Mayfield was dialed in again in Week 16, completing 26 of 35 passes for 283 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 116.7 passer rating. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he had a completion percentage over expected of +6.5, marking the fifth time this season he has had a CPOE of that number or higher.

Mayfield also had a very strong expected points added (EPA) total of 14.0 against the Jaguars, his second highest single-game mark of this season. His only game with a higher EPA was the aforementioned Green Bay contest, in which he threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns. He did this despite being pressured on 18 of his 35 dropbacks, a pressure rate of 46.2% that is the second-highest he has faced all season.

Mayfield has two of the top six passing games in terms of total EPA over the past two weeks. His mark of 20.4 against the Packers is at the top of the list, and his total from this past Sunday ranks sixth. His two-week total of 34.4 EPA is the most by any NFL quarterback in that span.

Mayfield particularly targeted Evans when he was being covered by Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell. According to NGS, Campbell was the nearest defender on 12 of Evans' 33 routes and Mayfield hit him on five of those 12 plays, accounting for 71 yards and both of his touchdowns. Campbell attempted press coverage on 41.7% of Evans' routes but the Bucs' receiver was able to beat it, scoring both of his touchdowns off of the press. This is nothing new for Evans, who has a league-high seven touchdowns on routes against press coverage this season.

Evans' first touchdown catch was a simple pivot route out of a wide left alignment. Evans ran just over the goal line and to the inside of Campbell, then planted his feet and spun with his face toward the quarterback and ran towards the sideline, instantly gaining nearly three yards of separation from the defender. Evans was so open that NGS gave the play an 83.6% chance of being completed.

That was definitely not the case on Evans' second touchdown, a 22-yarder in the second quarter. As noted above, he had press coverage on the play from Campbell but also had single-high safety Andre Cisco closing in near the goal line. On this one, Evans had just 1.1 yards of separation from the nearest defender when Mayfield let the ball go, and that was down to 0.7 yards by the time the pass arrived, with Campbell right behind him and Cisco coming in from the side. Evans made a diving catch with Campbell landing on him in the end zone. According to NGS, that pass only had a 29.4% chance of being completed, making it Mayfield's most improbable completion of the game.

Whether he's wide open or in a tight window, Evans has been a very productive and reliable target for Mayfield throughout 2023, and that was particularly evident on the Bucs' two touchdown passes against Jacksonville.

Groundbreaking is nearer, but not scheduled, for the estimated $300 million Concourse B at Jacksonville International Airport, which was expected to start construction this year but is now anticipated in the summer for completion by the end of 2026.

The city is reviewing a building permit application for a $200 million construction project to expand the North Jacksonville airport with the new six-gate concourse.

Balfour Beatty Construction LLC of Orlando is the construction manager at risk for the work on the three-level, 186,733-square-foot project at 2400 Yankee Clipper Drive.

In that role, Balfour Beatty oversees the project from design to construction completion with a guaranteed maximum price. That will be determined in the next few months.

Greg Willis, Jacksonville Aviation Authority marketing and public relations manager, said Sept. 18 that JAA did not have an absolute date to begin the concourse construction.

The airport has one main terminal with two concourses totaling 20 gates, comprising 10 each for Concourse A and Concourse C.

Concourse B is designed as six gates and can add another two to four gates when needed.

The first Concourse B was demolished in 2009 after Concourses A and C were rebuilt in 2008.

Willis said in September the authority is waiting on the Federal Aviation Administration to finish reviewing and approving several studies before JAA can proceed with construction.

JAA Director of External Affairs Michael Stewart said Dec. 12 the permit application is preliminary work as the authority awaits those studies.

“We are gearing up,” he said.

When JAA opened Concourses A and C in 2008, it anticipated adding Concourse B in 2014-15.

That’s because the FAA recommends that airports prepare for expansion when they reach about 65% of terminal capacity, which happened at JAA in 2008.

Then the Great Recession in 2008-09 resulted in a downturn in financial markets and travel.

By 2018, JAA returned to 2007 traffic levels and resumed plans for Concourse B.

At that time, JAA was not required to perform an environmental assessment because the new concourse was the same footprint as the former Concourse B.

The 2020 pandemic created another delay, loosely expected to be at least five to seven years in the absence of knowing how COVID-19 would play out.

By last year, JAA realized the industry had recovered and resumed designing Concourse B.

But then, the FAA required a new environmental assessment, which began about the first of this year and could take up to a year to complete.

In June-July, the FAA also realized the preliminary concourse design conflicted with two radar arrays of the radar system on the airfield, which led to a pause in the environmental assessment.

Stewart said both studies are on parallel tracks and JAA meets regularly with the FAA.

“We can request the permit review and probably order everything we need in the next few weeks or months, but we can’t put a shovel in the ground until they complete the environmental assessment,” he said.

Stewart also expects the FAA will work out the conflicts with the radar array and resume the assessment in January, which “puts us to getting a shovel in the ground this summer.”

Jacobs Engineering is the leading design engineer and Jacksonville-based RS&H Inc. is the subcontractor for the architectural portion.

The JAA board voted March 27 to ratify contracts with Balfour Beatty Construction LLC to purchase steel for the Concourse B project.

The contracts comprise a $24.57 million steel package to build Concourse B and a $2.6 million contract for the third phase of security checkpoint renovations at the airport.

Stewart said JAA didn’t order the steel because of the delays and did not want to be storing the material.

Stewart said Phase 1 – the new checkpoint area – is substantially complete and open for use during the holidays.

“When we have maximum days, we can operate all eight lanes if we have to,” he said.

Returning passengers now are shifted to a bypass at Concourse C. As that is upgraded, that exit will be moved to Concourse A.

When completed, there will be exits from both concourses.

Phase 2 is the bypass taxiway for aircraft. For now, planes have been parking in the area where Concourse B will be built, and that will have to change for construction.

Phase 3 is the construction of Concourse B.

Stewart said those two phases will take place in tandem.

JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said in May that costs for Concourse B had risen to about $300 million. In 2021, JAA estimated the project could be $272 million to $275 million.

JAA anticipates using $300 million in debt financing for Concourse B.

It expects to use about $175 million in passenger facility charges to repay the debt over time, according to a committee report.

The JAA’s annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended in September 2022 said the authority has spent about $261.33 million of revenue from passenger facility charges on projects funded on a pay-as-you-go and financing basis.

In 1990, Congress approved the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act, which authorized domestic airports to impose a passenger facility charge on enplaning passengers that can be used for qualified airport projects.

JAA had levied PFC charges at the rate of $3 per enplaned passenger since April 1, 1994.

As of May 2, 2003, the FAA approved an amendment to raise the rate to $4.50.

The amendment also permits the authority to finance certain projects with PFC revenue.

The financial report said JAA has submitted and received approval to collect $363.46 million since inception.