“Five and two is a heck of a lot better than 4-3,” Marcus Stroud proclaimed at mid-week. “It’s not a must win,” said Byron Leftwich, “but it’s a significant game, no doubt.”

So with their flair for the unexpected, the Jaguars went to Indianapolis, kept it close, kept Peyton Manning and company off the field and beat the Colts 27-24 on a late 53-yard field goal by Josh Scobee. At this point, that “soft” 4-2 teams has to be taken seriously.

A road game at Houston next week finishes the first half of the schedule for the Jaguars, a first half they can go no worse than 5-3 in. The second half of the schedule has the Steelers, Packers and Vikings as opponents, but five of the remaining eight games are at home.

This is a team people are going to have to start paying attention to for a variety of reasons. One, they’re 5-2 and atop the AFC South. Two, they’re getting better. And three, they’re gaining confidence by leaps and bounds. They got a few wins early thanks to their defense, but now, it’s a complete team effort. While the defense has come back to earth with their play, they’re getting the job done in the tight spots that are necessary to win games. The special teams are not causing the team problems, and in fact are giving them good field position and creating field position problems for the opponents. Five different times against the Colts, Indianapolis started their drives inside their own 20. And the offense seems to be coming of age, along with quarterback Byron Leftwich.

All along, Leftwich’s biggest attribute has been his knowledge of the game, and it’s paying off in crucial situations each week. He doesn’t panic, for one thing, no matter what the situation. And he scans the field with an eye on making a positive play each time he lets the ball go. That might sound elementary, but there are plenty of quarterbacks who never seem to grasp that concept. He had another 300 yard game against Indy, and seems to have a connection with his receivers, especially Jimmy Smith, and that’s necessary sometimes when they have to improvise.

What we haven’t seen is Leftwich go up against an elite defense that can pressure the quarterback. None of the Jaguars opponents have been noted defensive clubs, and the Colts were the worst pass defense in the league. That should change this week against Houston as Dom Capers is getting the Texans known for their defense much like Carolina was known for the same when he was the Panthers head coach.

It’s a long way to December, but the Jaguars have the look of a team that could be still playing a couple of weeks into January.