If the Tennessee Titans (8-4) — who host the 2-10 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday — played all season like they’re playing now, they’d probably be the 14th seed in the AFC. Instead, they’re still the overwhelming favorites to win the AFC South because of the eight wins they banked in the first 10 games. But the fastest way to risk missing the NFL playoffs altogether is by losing at home to one of the worst teams in football.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans storylines
CBS’ 1 PM window has a couple of compelling matchups. This isn’t one of them. Which is why unless you live in a select few pockets of the country — Nashville and Jacksonville being two of them — you’ll either see the Raiders visit the Chiefs or the Browns host the Ravens. The Titans lead the all-time series with the Jaguars 33-21 and have won 10 of the last 12.
Time to earn that money, Ryan Tannehill
Ryan Tannehill is the 11th-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. Currently, he’s the 26th-ranked quarterback in terms of rating (84.7) and 17th in EPA + CPOE (0.102).
In the Titans’ four games without Derrick Henry, Tannehill has completed 66.1% of his passes, averaged 6.1 yards per attempt, and has a passer rating of 73.3. Injuries to A.J. Brown and Julio Jones have absolutely contributed to Tannehill’s recent slump. But poor throws have contributed more. Tannehill had the bye week to clear his head. Will it help?
“We’ve just got to take care of the football,” Tannehill said this week.”It’s obviously a big emphasis for us moving forward. … Guys are excited to get going again. Mentally refreshed, physically refreshed, and excited to get playing. We’ve got a huge stretch coming up to finish the regular season, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
Tannehill added: “We’ve put ourselves in a position where everything we wanted is still in front of us.”
Free James Robinson
Jaguars running backs coach Bernie Parmalee cannot feel great about his job security as the regular season winds down. The Jaguars bizarrely only used James Robinson — who’s probably their best offensive player — on 26 snaps in their Week 13 blowout loss to the Rams. He seemed to get benched after a fumble after his second carry and only returned when the game’s outcome was obvious.
When asked about that workload in the days that followed, coach Urban Meyer basically threw Parmalee under the bus.
[bet-bonus id=”164810″ ]“That’s a good question,” Meyer replied when asked why Robinson hardly played. “I’m aware of it. I’m not in charge of it, but I’ll watch and I’ll say, ‘What’s our thoughts here, and what’s our thoughts there?’ Obviously, I didn’t do it there with James. I am [going to be more involved] because I just got to make sure to do it the way I want it done.”
Robinson’s 878 yards from scrimmage and 7 rushing touchdowns are both far and away the most on the team.
What does Julio Jones have left?
The Titans designated Julio Jones for return from injured reserve this week, and he practiced with a compression sleeve on his mending right hamstring. There was still some uncertainty about his availability throughout the week.
But whenever Jones returns, the Titans certainly need him to be the player they thought they were getting when they sent a second- and a fourth-round pick to the Falcons. Jones is in danger of setting career lows in catches (21 through Week 13), receiving yards (336), and touchdowns (0).
Tannehill this week suggested he and Jones haven’t had a chance to really develop chemistry because of Jones’ injury issues.
“I think that it’s been a frustrating year for him, just kind of the up and down of being injured,” Tannehill said. “I don’t want to speak for him, I’ll let him answer that question, but I can imagine if I was in that position, it’d be quite frustrating. So hoping to keep him healthy as the season goes on and build that consistency the more time we get together.”
Jaguars vs. Titans betting line and game prediction
- Spread: Titans -8 (Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Moneyline: Titans -425, Jaguars +320
- Total: 43.5
Jaguars vs. Titans Prediction: Titans 20, Jaguars 19