Game Preview — Titans vs. Jaguars
The Titans might have their most winnable game outside of the New England game in which they were barely favored at home this week. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a mess. Made even more so after an unfortunate hit from former Titan Azeez Al-Shaair may have knocked Trevor Lawrence out for the season. The Jaguars are on a 5 game losing streak and are looking to surprise the Titans this Sunday at noon. For the Titans this is a game they should win handily.
The Titans are facing a Jaguars team that is in current possession of the #1 pick and have one of the worst defenses in the league. They’ve allowed the second most pass TD’s with 24 and are ranked 22nd in rush defense. This could be a breakout game for the Titans offense if they play smart. With the issues the Jaguars currently face Will Levis should continue his impressive streak of playing solid ball and giving the Titans more reason to hold onto him as the starter in 2025. In addition this can serve as a get right game for Tony Pollard who unfortunately had been otherwise solid completely fumbled (pun intended) his positive momentum last week against the Commanders as he posted one of his worst rushing performances of the season.
The Titans brought back fan favorite KR/PR Mason Kinsey to the active roster and it looks as if he’ll be handling kick off duties post-punt clarity Colt Anderson. In addition, Chidobe Awuzie has finally come off IR since missing week 4-12. Awuzie should provide a boost in the secondary that has been needing assistance since September. As the Titans have consistently been on the receiving end of great QB performance that shouldn’t be the case today. Mac Jones had one of his best games of the against Houston (surprise surprise) last week. He posted a 77 grade from PFF and had over 230 yards and 2 passing TDs. With the possible absence Roger McCreary the Titans may look Brownlee Jr. in the slot and allow Baker Jr. and have Awuzie play the other outside spot. However, the secondary can only do so much if the pass rush can’t get affect Mac Jones. Last week the Titans had 3 sacks on Jayden Daniels. Yes, that’s a good number, but no that was not enough to stop him from ripping the Titans secondary apart. Yes, Daniels is a better QB than Jones, however, that hasn’t stopped backup QBs from tearing the Titans apart in the past or even recent past (Malik Willis, Joe Flacco). The Titans have a lot of injuries and they’ll need those guys back for the game. The Titans can ill afford to miss Sweat, Baker (LB), and Brownlee Jr. See below for the injury report.
Final @Titans vs @Jaguars Injury Report. pic.twitter.com/XuwDuQzLRl
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) December 6, 2024
Brian Callahan will look to have Will Levis and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine continue their chemistry today against Jacksonville — who boasts the worst pass defense in the league. Will Levis has been consistently solid since his return from injury. NWI has been on fire since Week 6 in which he has made 8 TD receptions. Although NWI isn’t getting the consistent yardage Coach Callahan has put NWI in great position to help the offense as a whole. NWI has consistently found ways to beat defenses deep despite having lackluster speed. That’s a great attribute for NWI. The Titans offensive line will have to do a better job than it has recently to protect Will Levis and Levis will indeed need to do a better job of throwing away the ball when the protection breaks down instead of needlessly taking sacks. Travon Walker and Josh Allen-Hines have 8 and 7 sacks respectively. It’s likely they both end up with double-digit sacks by the time 3:10pm strikes. The Titans have to do a better job creating space for Tony Pollard as well. It was nearly impossible to get the ground game running against Washington last week. The Titans should find success against the Jaguars rush defense who are ranked 20th according to PFF. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears need to bring their “A” game today to set the Titans up for success. When the Titans can run the ball effectively the entire offense seems to click. If the Titans struggle running the ball this game may be closer than it should end up being otherwise.
Prediction:
The Titans should easily handle the woeful Jaguars. However, Mac Jones and company could very easily pull off the upset, but I don’t believe that’s the case today. The Titans will screech out a close one today as they defeat the Jaguars 24-17.
