The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars face off in an AFC South divisional matchup this Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CST in Nashville, Tennessee. It marks the first of two meetings between the teams as the 2024 season winds down.
The Jaguars are having a tough season with a 2-10 record and last week may have lost their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, for the remainder of the season.
Even if he gets through concussion protocol, the Jags may decide to keep Lawrence off the field to prevent further injury. Given how their season is going, it’s not a bad choice. Mac Jones is a decent backup.
The Titans had high hopes at the beginning of the season, but by the time they entered the bye in Week 5, everyone was ready to count them out. Then Will Levis returned and looked like a different player on the field, and that hasn’t gone away. His play has reignited some hope in this team, despite the continued losses.
As we head into this Week 14 divisional matchup, let’s consider three causes for concern for the Titans.
Recent questionable game strategy
Last week against the Commanders, Brian Callahan’s game strategy was an epic fail. When you’re facing a team with obvious weaknesses in defending the run, it would make sense to get your running back the ball rather than attack the strong-willed secondary.
But Callahan didn’t do that.
The Titans ran the ball 11 times and handed it to Tony Pollard only eight times. If Callahan thought he could outsmart the Commanders’ secondary, he was sorely mistaken. It was a huge gaffe and something that cannot happen again. Don’t try to outsmart your opponent’s strengths unless they give you a window. Attack their weaknesses.
This week, against the Jaguars, the strategy is going to be different. The Jags are a different team than the Commanders and their defense ranks at the bottom of the league in nearly every metric.
As long as the Titans don’t turn the ball over, it shouldn’t be tough to win. However, that is completely dependent on the game strategy and if any adjustments are made during the game.
Titans’ defensive woes
The Titans’ defense has been solid for most of the season and still ranks as the top pass defense in the league. Last week, though, their run defense took a hit as the Commanders recorded 267 yards on the ground. It was an unexpected blow.
The secondary received its own blow on Tuesday, too, when the NFL announced it was suspending safety Julius Wood for six games without pay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. He wasn’t hugely impactful, but it leaves the Titans down a man.
As it stands, the Titans defense is tired. The bye week came early this year, their whole unit is riddled with injuries leaving a limited number of players available each week, and they spent a lot of time on the field last week.
The Titans’ defense isn’t usually a concern, but their effectiveness is dwindling, and the Titans can’t win games that way, no matter who their opponent is.
Special teams
There’s no real context here; everything about the special teams unit is a concern. Blocking. Tackling. Ball security.
Two things are not a concern: Nick Folks’ ability to make a field goal and land kickoffs in touchback territory, and Ryan Stonehouse’s ability to punt the ball inside the five-yard line.
Everything else is a huge mess, it’s chaos on the plays, Jha’Quan Jackson is fumbling the ball leading the Titans to make more use of Julius Chestnut.
It sounds like a broken record, but special teams can literally make or break a team. Right now, special teams is breaking the Titans. Field position matters. Stopping an opponent’s return matters. Making sure the Titans’ guys can return past the 30-yard line matters. If special teams continue to look like it has, it doesn’t matter who they play, they will struggle.
