The game: Tennessee at Jacksonville (-3)
It’s a game that probably won’t really matter until Draft Day, but it’s on the schedule anyway and since it’s football, we’re probably all going to watch it. The Tennessee Titans (2-7) with quarterback of the future Marcus Mariota face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) with their own quarterback of the future in Blake Bortles. And here’s the shocker. It’s almost Thanksgiving and neither of these teams is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet.
The History
The rivalry between the two teams actually predates the existence of the Tennessee Titans. It began in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ inaugural season against the Houston Oilers, three years before the team moved to Tennessee and four years before they became the Titans. The Oilers won that game 10-3.
The Titans lead the series 23-18, but the Jaguars won the teams’ last meeting, 21-13 last December at Everbank Field in Jacksonville. The Titans last won in Oct. 2014 with a 16-14 victory at L.P. Field in Nashville.
The Titans have put together two five-game win streaks over the Jaguars, the first from Dec. 1998 to October, 2000 and the second from Nov. 2001 to Nov. 2003. The longest Jaguars streak was four games from Dec. 1996 to Sept. 1998.
The two teams had a pretty good rivalry beginning in 1999 through the early 2000s with the Titans beating the Jaguars 33-14 in the 1999 AFC Championship game.
The Titans on offense
The Titans offense begins and ends with Marcus Mariota. When Mariota has been hot, the Titans have put up some impressive scores. He’ll have to do it with a depleted wide receiver squad with Justin Hunter out for the season and Kendall Wright out for this game. That opens up an opportunity for rookie Dorial Green-Beckham to step into a starting role opposite free agent pick up Harry Douglas. The running game should get a boost with Bishop Sankey back in the line up and they need to work him back into the offense after a lackluster start under former coach Ken Whisenhunt.
The Jaguars on offense
Blake Bortles is quietly having the break-out season the Jaguars needed in his second year. While he’s still under 60 percent passing, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is solid and he’s passed for 2,381 yards already this season. The Jags whiffed by not taking Amari Cooper in the draft like I told them too but the Allens, Robinson and Hurns, have both been solid receivers in the Jags’ offense. Rookie T. J. Yeldon has averaged four yards per carry, but he’s questionable for this game and may not play at all. With Bernard Pierce out too, that leaves Toby Gerhart and Denard Robinson as the only healthy running backs on the roster with any NFL carries.
The Titans on defense
The Titans have fielded a surprisingly stout unit, currently ranked No. 5 in the NFL in yards allowed. Tennessee has a tremendous linebacker corps with Derrick Morgan and free agent pick up Brian Orakpo both able to pressure the quarterback. Up front, the Titans only have bodies with the exception of underrated 3-4 defensive end Jurrell Casey. The Titans needed help in the defensive backfield this offseason and fixed it with free agent pick ups Perrish Cox and Da’Norris Searcy. Safety Michael Griffin has secretly been one of the best players in the NFL since he entered the league nine years ago.
The Jaguars on defense
The Jags come into the game relatively healthy and while they’ve got the No. 19-ranked total defense, they’re one of the best defenses in the league in forcing turnovers with 11 interceptions and six forced fumbles. The front has missed star defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks due to injury and the Jags finally put him on injured reserve this week. After Marks, none of the other Jags defensive lineman are much more than bodies taking up space. The Jags make up for it with their own star linebacker corps with Telvin Smith, Paul Posluszny and Dan Skuta.
The pick: There’s every reason to pick the Titans in this one, but I feel like the Jaguars have turned a corner and could very well be on their way to six wins. This will probably be one of them. Jaguars 17, Titans 14
