JACKSONVILLE – The season is not over, the desire and dynamism remain.

The Jaguars will host the Minnesota Vikings at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, and that was the message from the Jaguars this week: Despite a disappointing record, there’s plenty of incentive to play a third game in as many weeks against an NFC contender.

“We’re going to keep fighting,” tight end Evan Engram said.

Engram, veteran and locker room leader, set the tone at the start of the week and others echoed that sentiment throughout the week. Even though the Jaguars, after finishing 9-8 in each of the last two seasons, did not expect to reach the current 2-7 record, incentives such as pride and professionalism remain real as they approach from mid-November.

“I just don’t think you’re going to throw in the towel,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “That’s not how I operate. That’s not how these players operated. You go into every football game trying to win that game.”

The Vikings have more conventional incentives. After a 5-0 start to the season, they lost two games before picking up a prime-time win over the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday. They are 6-2, one game behind the NFC North division-leading Detroit Lions.

The Vikings need every win they can get in a competitive NFC. This is a solid defensive team with one of the best receivers in the NFL, Justin Jefferson. Their quarterback, Sam Darnold, is reviving his career and is two touchdown passes shy of his career best of 19.

Nothing has been easy for the Jaguars lately. This will not change on Sunday.