The Titans fell in Week 1 to a talented Oakland Raiders team 26-16, but all is not lost for a team that has aspirations of a divisional title and a deep playoff run this season. On the other hand, Tennessee’s Week 2 opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars are riding high after they went on the road as six point underdogs and took care of business last weekend in Houston. In addition to the Jaguars win, every other AFC South team lost, which means Jacksonville currently sits alone in first-place in the AFC South. Prior to Sunday, the Jaguars had not had a winning record at any time since the 2011 season, so this was an extremely encouraging sign for a team that has spent over $150 million in free agency each of the last two seasons.
The Two Tone Blue are known for having a strong running game as the team’s identity, and the Titans will be facing a similar ground and pound attack this week. The Jaguars and Head Coach Doug Marrone have emphasized the run heading into the 2017 season and it showed against the Texans. Embattled QB Blake Bortles only tossed 21 passes in Sunday’s win, which was the fewest passes of his career; however, Bortles did not turn the ball over and efficiently managed the Jags offense. The Jaguars have searched high and low for a running back to become the centerpiece in the backfield the past few seasons and they may have finally found their man. Rookie running back Leonard Fournette, the #4 overall pick out of LSU gained 100 yards and scored a touchdown in an impressive debut. The combination of a solid running game, limiting turnovers and playing lights-out defense may be just the winning formula that the Jaguars have been searching for since they last made the playoffs in 2007.
The Jaguars have drafted and spent heavily in free agency on defense and that defense came to play on Sunday. Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash’s unit held the Texans to 203 total yards, forced four turnovers and scored a touchdown in a complete team win. Calais Campbell and Dante Fowler anchor a defensive line that forced a team-record 10 sacks against the inept Houston offense. The Jaguars social media team wasted little team capitalizing on the impressive defensive performance by launching the hashtag “Sacksonville” in honor of the record-breaking performance.
Last season on Christmas Eve, Jaguars defensive tackle Sheldon Day recorded his first sack and in the process broke Marcus Mariota’s leg. Protecting #8 will be pivotal in this matchup for the Titans offensive line, a group that is dealing with the injury to left tackle Taylor Lewan. #77 and his fellow lineman will surely want to exact a little payback in their first visit to the River City since the Jaguars injured the franchise quarterback and eliminated the Titans from playoff contention a year ago.
On the injury front, Titans Safety Johnathan Cyprien is out for this week’s game and looks likely to miss more time with a hamstring problem. Titans Cornerback Tye Smith has a broken hand, and it would not be surprising if he misses this week’s action. For the Jaguars, #1 Wide Receiver Allen Robinson suffered a torn ACL in Houston, and is expected to miss the rest of the 2017 season. The Jaguars also have two contributors in their secondary dealing with health issues. Cornerback A.J. Bouye has not practiced all week with an illness, and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, a Nashville area native has not practiced this week either with a lingering ankle injury.
It’s very early in the season, but winning a divisional game in the second week of the season is extremely important to the Titans. Teams that start (0-2) have drastically lower postseason odds than their contemporaries who start the season (1-1) or undefeated. Additionally, the Titans have struggled recently in the AFC South, including a (2-4) record last year that kept Tennessee out of the playoffs. The Jaguars and Titans have split the season series every season since 2008, when Jeff Fisher’s Titans went (13-3), won the AFC South, and earned the top seed in the AFC. Taking care of business in the division is a focus for this Titans team and standing in the way of that goal is a motivated Jacksonville squad with a chip on their shoulders. The Jaguars are the only team in the division with a win; however, the Jags are working against history. Since NFL realignment and the birth of the AFC South in 2002, the Jaguars have never won the division title and have only been to the playoffs twice as a wild card. The Jaguars last won a division title when they went back-to-back in the AFC Central during the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
There was some concern earlier this week after Hurricane Irma made landfall that the Titans and Jaguars might need to flip home dates, due to flooding in Jacksonville. The storm was brutal, and our thoughts and prayers are with our friends in the Jacksonville area and everyone who was affected by the storm’s path. Luckily, the flooding by EverBank Field in downtown Jacksonville was not severe enough to force the game to be moved. Additionally, the stadium itself suffered no structural damage and should be ready for kickoff at the regularly scheduled time of noon central.
Tune to 104.5 The Zone, and Titans Radio Twitter and Facebook all week long for updates on the team and information about the game.
