The Tennessee Titans (2-7) go up against the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) at EverBank Field this week in a clash between AFC South rivals. While this season has been a bit of a letdown for Jacksonville, the team has shown signs of life lately, notching wins in two of its last three. The game will begin Thursday, Nov 19 at 8:25 p.m. ET and can be seen on NFLN.
This will be the first matchup of the season for the division rivals. They split a pair of games during the regular season last year. Telvin Smith led the Jaguars defense in the last game against the Titans, totaling 10 tackles. Derrick Morgan led the Tennessee defense, registering five tackles and two sacks.
The Jaguars, a three-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when Tennessee visits. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at 44 points.
Heading into Week 11 of league action, the Jaguars are 3-6 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS). In the past five games, Jacksonville is 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Jaguars have seen an uptick in scoring recently, averaging 26 points during the last five games. They average 21.3 points per game on the season. The Jaguars may capitalize on a weak Titans pass defense that allows 11.4 yards per pass. As for the Jacksonville defense, there are important areas to keep an eye on. When it comes to defending the run, Jacksonville is the best in the league, giving up 3.3 yards per rushing attempt. One of the keys to the game will be if the Jaguars can take advantage of the fumbling of the Titans, who rank close to the bottom of the league in fumbles lost with 1.1 per game. The Jaguars are a challenge in the second quarter. In home games, Jacksonville averages 12.5 points during those periods, more than any other team in the league.
Moving to the road team, the Titans have a record of 4-5 ATS and 2-7 SU. In the previous five games, Tennessee has a record of 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. Tennessee can plan on throwing the ball regularly. Offenses have picked apart the pass defense of the Jaguars, which allows a completion percentage of 66.8%, 27th in the league. Switching gears to the Tennessee defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of as well. Tennessee’s third-ranked pass defense has given its competition issues. Opponents have thrown for 214 yards per game against this terrorizing group. Pass protection will be essential for the Jaguars against the tenacious Titans defense, ranking fourth in the league in sacks with three per game. There are no road game jitters for the Titans, who average a league-best 8.5 points in the first quarter of away games. Special teams is an area of weakness for the Jaguars, giving up 99.9 return yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ten, ATS Winner – Ten, O/U – Over
Notes
Jacksonville is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Jacksonville’s last 5 games.
Jacksonville is 6-16 SU in its last 22 games at home.
Jacksonville is 6-13-1 ATS in its last 20 games at home.
Jacksonville is 7-1-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Jacksonville’s last 11 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Jacksonville’s last 5 games when playing at home against Tennessee.
Jacksonville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Tennessee.
Jacksonville is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Tennessee.
Tennessee is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Jacksonville.
Both teams are 1-2 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Remarkably, Jacksonville is winless (0-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 2-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Jacksonville has induced an average of 9.0 penalties on opponents over its last five games, but Tennessee is 2-1 SU this season when penalized nine or more times in a game.
The Tennessee pass defense is ranked third in the league, and will look to contain the 16th-ranked passing attack of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville has given up 25.5 points per game at home this year, which ranks it only 22nd in the league. Tennessee has scored 24.0 points per game on the road (ranked 10th overall).
