It’s for all the marbles on Saturday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will play arguably the biggest regular season game in franchise history when they host the Tennessee Titans with the AFC South title on the line.
Just under a month ago, the Jaguars rolled to a 36-22 win over the Titans in Nashville with 428 yards of total offense and four takeaways on defense. This time around, the Titans visit TIAA Bank Field with recently acquired Joshua Dobbs set to start at quarterback.
All signs point toward the Jaguars having the advantage in the rematch with Tennessee limping into Duval on a six-game losing streak. But there are no easy wins in the NFL and the Titans are notorious for being a thorn in the Jaguars’ paw.
Here are three things the Jaguars need to accomplish Saturday to end the night as division champions:
Stop Derrick Henry
Nothing is more important Saturday than bottling up Henry.
The 16 career touchdowns he has against the Jaguars are four more than his total against any other NFL team. Sure, his 12 career games against Jacksonville pad that total, but that doesn’t explain away his 5.5 yards per carry against the team.
In the Week 14 meeting, Henry had 96 rushing yards and a touchdown by the end of the first quarter. While the Jaguars eventually the run game under control (thanks mostly to the big lead it accrued), it’ll have to do better early against Henry.
Pick apart the Titans secondary
The Titans have dealt with injuries all over the place, but the one thing they’ve been consistently good at all season is stopping the run.
Even as the Jaguars picked the Tennessee defense apart four weeks ago, Travis Etienne Jr. managed only 32 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
Fortunately for Jacksonville, the Titans pass defense isn’t doing so hot. Tennessee is dead last in passing yards allowed and second to last in passing touchdowns allowed.
Among the many players on the Titans injured reserve are pass rushers Bud Dupree and Harold Landry, and defensive backs Andrew Adams, Caleb Farley, Elijah Molden, and Terrance Mitchell. The team will also be without cornerback Davontae Harris on Saturday and may be without cornerback Kristian Fulton.
All of that makes the path to victory pretty obvious: pass, pass, and pass some more.
Hold on to the ball
The Jaguars should win Saturday.
The decimated Titans limp in with a defense that hasn’t done much stopping opposing offenses and they’ll be led by a quarterback who was on the Lions’ practice squad when the Jaguars visited Nashville four weeks ago.
All signs point toward the Jaguars getting the AFC South title so long as they don’t trip over their own feet.
Avoiding turnovers will be the key to limiting the Titans opportunities. That means Trevor Lawrence not forcing balls into tight coverage and Travis Etienne finally getting through a game without fumbling.
