Seven weeks ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars cruised to a 34-14 beatdown of the visiting Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium.
Trevor Lawrence scored two rushing touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley, while the Titans didn’t score their first points until the last play of the third quarter.
A lot can change in a month and a half, though.
The Titans never turned their season around, but the Jaguars limped through a rough December that started with a four-game losing streak. Lawrence battled through a few injuries before a shoulder sprain finally forced him to miss a game for the first time in his career.
Was the Jaguars’ shutout win against the Carolina Panthers last week proof that the skid is solidly in the rearview mirror? Or will a Week 18 rematch in Tennessee ruin Jacksonville’s season. Here’s what the experts predict will happen Sunday in the Jaguars’ regular season finale in Nashville:
USA Today
Jarrett Bell: Jaguars, 26-23
Chris Bumbaca: Jaguars, 24-17
Nate Davis: Titans, 24-20
Safid Deen: Jaguars, 24-17
Tyler Dragon: Jaguars, 27-17
Victoria Hernandez: Titans, 24-23
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Jaguars, 30-20
Lorenzo Reyes: Jaguars, 30-20
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Jaguars, 24-20
Brooke Cersosimo: Jaguars, 23-21
Dan Parr: Jaguars, 24-17
Gennaro Filice: Titans, 21-18
Tom Blair: Jaguars, 24-17
ESPN
Mike Clay: Jaguars
Jeremy Fowler: Jaguars
Dan Graziano: Jaguars
Kimberly Martin: Jaguars
Eric Moody: Titans
Jason Reid: Jaguars
Sam Wickersham: Titans
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Jaguars
Will Brinson: Titans
Jared Dubin: Jaguars
Ryan Wilson: Jaguars
John Breech: Jaguars
Tyler Sullivan: Jaguars
Dave Richard: Jaguars
Jamey Eisenberg: Jaguars
Sporting News
It’s a pretty straight-forward scenario for the Jaguars. Win, and they take the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) continues to battle late-season injuries, and this is a chance for the Titans to play spoiler at home. Tennessee is 4-3 S/U at home, and all three losses were by three points. This will not be easy for Jacksonville.
Pick: Jaguars 20, Titans 17
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 18 picks
Gary Davenport: Jaguars
Brad Gagnon: Jaguars
Ian Hanford: Jaguars
Kris Knox: Titans
Maurice Moton: Jaguars
Wes O’Donnell: Jaguars
Brent Sobleski: Jaguars
Bottom Line
Faith in the Jaguars hasn’t been completely restored by their Week 17 win against Carolina, but most experts are convinced the team has enough juice to pass its test in Tennessee:
Jaguars: 29
Titans: 7
