The 4-6 Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Tennessee to take on the 6-6 Titans in this week’s Thursday night matchup. Neither team would be in the playoffs if the season ended today but both are coming off impressive wins in which they stopped losing streaks. Jacksonville snapped a 7 game losing streak with a 6-0 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. It was their first home shutout since the 2006 season but they still find themselves alone in last place in the AFC South. The Titans ended a 2 game losing streak with a 26-22 comeback victory over the New York Jets. They trailed 19-6 midway through the third quarter but outscored the Jets 20-3 the rest of the way. The win put them in a tie for second place in the AFC South with the Colts as they both trail the Houston Texans.
Jacksonville’s defense had one of the best games in franchise history last week against the Colts. They sacked Andrew luck 3 times, intercepted him once and recovered a fumble. They dominated against the run as Indianapolis gained just 41 yards on 16 carries, which is an average of just 2.6 yards per rush. Luck completed 33 passes but averaged less than 5 yards per completion. For the year, the Jaguars defense has allowed their opponents to average 20.3 points and 330.2 yards per game. Offensively, they struggled gaining just 229 yards of offense and kicking 2 field goals. Cody Kessler finished with a quarterback rating of just 18 as he completed 18 of 24 passes for 150 yards 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. He earned the first win of his career despite not throwing for a touchdown. The team rushed for 79 yards with Carlos Hyde leading the way with 36 yards on 13 carries.
Marcus Mariota finished with a passer rating of 90 against the Jets as he completed 20 of 35 passes for 282 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, which was returned for a touchdown. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 43 yards on just 4 carries. His favorite target was Taywan Taylor who had 3 catches for 104 yards. The team averaged 6 yards per carry as overall they gained 130 yards on 22 carries. On the season, the Titans offense has averaged 18.4 points and 331 yards per game. Defensively, they saved Josh McCown twice and intercepted him once. They allowed the Jets to gain 156 yards on 33 carries, which is an average of 4.7 yards per run.
The Titans will have home field advantage and are favored by 4 points. They have gone 6-6 against the spread this season including 3-2 on the road. They are currently still in the hunt for a Wild Card spot and need to keep winning. The Jaguars have gone 4-6-2 against the spread including 1-3-1 on the road. Leonard Fournette will return from his 1 game suspension for fighting against the Bills. They will need all the offensive help they can find as they have average just 12 points in their last 3 games.
