Titans vs. Jaguars Matchup Preview

Jaguars Will Face Their Kryptonite In Nashville This Sunday

Brace yourself Jaguars fans, Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars will have to face their toughest match of the season this week. The Tennessee Titans have been a thorn in Jacksonville's side nearly since inception, derailing what could've been an undefeated season three times in 1999 and dominating Jacksonville since. It's hard for teams to break the mold after so many consecutive bad results, but that's the task they'll be put up to once again.

The good news, or maybe the bad news depending on how you look at it, is that the Titans are coming off a couple of bad weeks. Tennessee lost once again to the Cincinnati Bengals at home and was dominated by AJ Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles, leading to GM Jon Robinson being fired two days later. Although Jacksonville is coming off of a similar brutal loss, they could have a shot to pull off an upset with the developments over the past few weeks.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will likely enter into Sunday with considerably fewer injuries than the Tennessee Titans. We assume that Trevor Lawrence and Andre Cisco will be able to go, and on the other side of the coin, the Tennessee Titans will be missing WR Treylon Burks and two of their defensive stars in DL Denico Autry and LB David Long. Their offensive line has also shown some fatal flaws recently which will help provide the Jaguars with some advantages.

Neutralize Derrick Henry While Monitoring Ryan Tannehill

Most Jaguars matchups against the Titans have gone one of two ways. Either Derrick Henry has demolished the run defense en route to a huge performance or Ryan Tannehill has put up a huge game against the pass defense. Seemingly whichever unit the Jaguars have focused on the least has had a massive day. The challenge for Jacksonville on Sunday will be to prepare for both the passing and rushing attacks enough to curtail the Titans offense.

The Titans will want to run the game first through the ground, and even if the Jaguars are able to stop, there's no way the Titans completely resort to the passing game. The Jaguars pass rushing unit will be tasked to step up in a huge way this week if the Jaguars are to have a chance of victory. With Treylon Burks out, the Titans will likely resort to Robert Woods as their primary receiver, whom I feel can be neutralized by Tyson Campbell. The success of the Titans passing game could very well come down to low-end receivers matching up against the struggling Jacksonville cornerback room.

Trevor Lawrence And Travis Etienne Will Need To Be Great

For these guys, this is a get-right game in two different ways. For Travis Etienne, the last month hasn't lived up to the hype as he's battled through injury and been one of the biggest focuses of opposing defenses. Just before, Travis Etienne was among the NFL's leading rushers through yards along with Derrick Henry. This game presents the opportunity to bounce back in a huge game with a big performance.

On the other side, Trevor Lawrence has been playing his best football for over a month now. His issues don't lie with his recent performances, it lies with his record against Tennessee. Although it's not a large resume, Lawrence completed 47 of 73 passes with one touchdown and five interceptions last season against Tennessee. The last of those two performances, also in Nashville during Week 14, was the only time that Trevor Lawrence has been shutout in his NFL career. Coming back to Nashville will bring some bad memories, but Lawrence will have the opportunity to prove again that he's not the same player he was.

Even if Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne step up and play great football, this game can still be lost by the receiving corps. The Jaguars have taken the lead in most dropped passes this year which could come to bite them again this week. Even with a great quarterback, it means nothing if receivers can't get open and make plays. Christian Kirk has been one of the best receivers in the NFL this season, but they'll need Zay Jones and Marvin Jones to get heavily involved to prevent the Titans from clamping down against Kirk.

Final Prediction

I hope the Jaguars can prove me wrong this week, but I can't choose them to win in Nashville until they do it. It's basically the equivalent of choosing the Colts to win in Jacksonville. If any team can do it, I believe it's the one that's going to be here for years to come but I'm not sure they're ready yet. I expect the Titans to have to used a balanced game plan which features Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. The Jaguars may manage to get a couple sacks, but I'm not sure they'll be enough of an impact to win. Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk will put in really good games, but Travis Etienne will struggle in his first matchup against the Titans while the other receivers struggle to make an impact. I predict the Titans to defeat the Jaguars and essentially lock up the division with a 24-17 victory. If these Jaguars can prove me wrong and win a huge game, they'll keep their season alive and maybe, even if improbable, have a path to win the division.

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