Jaguars vs. Titans Matchup Preview

A Battle For The Division Crown Looms In Week 18

Jaguars. Titans. A battle for the AFC South crown. That's what lies ahead for fans on Saturday. For both teams, it's been a tale of two seasons. It's seemingly been that these teams have been the complete opposite of each other throughout the year. While the Jaguars started off strong to open the year, the Titans were limping through games to reach .500. In the weeks that followed, Jacksonville seemed destined for a complete and total collapse as they dropped five straight games while the Titans went on a huge winning streak and reached a season high 7-3 record.

Then it all changed in Week 12. Down four games to the Titans, the Jaguars pulled off a fantastic come-from-behind victory against Baltimore while the Titans dropped their first of many consecutive games. Other than a blowout loss to Detroit, the Jaguars battled and won against multiple contenders to not only reach the Titans, but to surpass them. Now as these teams head into Week 18, it seems almost like destiny that the Jaguars would win the AFC South.

Jacksonville Must Prioritize Stopping The Run Above All Else

With Ryan Tannehill out and Josh Dobbs in, there is absolutely no doubt that the Titans offense will run through Derrick Henry. In these teams last matchup, Henry was able to start off with a monster performance in the first quarter that was quickly shut down as the Jaguars took the lead and never looked back. An issue that arose seemingly out of nowhere was fumbles after Shaquille Quarterman committed some Duval on Duval crime early on. Josh Allen even noted that the mentality changed towards Derrick Henry since the Jaguars finally learned he wasn't invincible.

If you thought that the Titans offensive line wasn't ready last game, things are even more dire in Tennessee now. After some more key injuries to starters, Tennessee has been forced to start several players who very few teams could feel confident in trotting onto the field. With the emergence of Josh Allen and Travon Walker late in the season, they'll have a prime opportunity to break out in the biggest game of the season as this team tries to qualify for the postseason.

Let The Clemson Boys Lead The Offensive Charge

For the Jaguars to be a true competitor in the NFL playoffs, they'll need to boast both a great run game and pass game. Thankfully, there are two players who fit that bill in Jacksonville. If Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne play a great game this Saturday, they should be able to put a ton of points on the board against one of the NFL's most injured defenses. With that said, Jeffrey Simmons and Kevin Byard will have something to say about that.

Last week, Trevor Lawrence had a somewhat forgettable first half performance before being rested while Travis Etienne finally broke out a long touchdown. We have yet to see both players have amazing games at once, but there's no better week than now. Lawrence had his best performance of the season against Tennessee just a month ago, and with his new-found ability to show up in big moments we could see that once again.

Final Prediction

How could I not pick the Jaguars to finish this off? It's just too perfect. They're winning with the right mentality every week while the Titans have fallen off a cliff for six straight weeks. After so many years of failure and frustration that was set off by a Titans sweep in 1999, it's time for Jacksonville to set things straight and send their arch nemesis packing into the offseason. I've got the Jaguars dethroning the Titans with a resounding 35-20 victory. It was always the Jags!

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