Well, we are finally here, the final week of the NFL season and the Jacksonville Jaguars have a huge matchup with their rivals the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday.
For Jacksonville, this game is its season. The Jaguars control their own destiny after snapping a four-game losing skid by blanking the Carolina Panthers last week 26-0. At 9-7, Jacksonville remains in a three-way tie atop of the AFC South with Indianapolis and Houston. With the Texans and Colts playing each other on Sunday and Jacksonville holding the tiebreaker, that means the Jaguars just need to win to be back-to-back AFC South champions. There are scenarios where Jacksonville could clinch a wild-card spot if it loses to the Titans, but it would need help from other teams to do so.
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Just like last year, all the Jaguars need to do is win and they are in.
The only problem is that it will not be that easy. The Titans never make it easy for the Jaguars and this game will be no different.
One thing that could potentially help the Jaguars this week is the return of quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wideout Christian Kirk. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Lawrence is progressing and the team opened Kirk’s 21-day practice window on Wednesday. Having both guys back would provide a big boost to Jacksonville’s offense.
The Titans are 5-11 on the season, riding a three-game losing streak with their most recent loss coming last week to the Texans 26-3. They are not playing for much, except for a chance to ruin Jacksonville’s playoff chances and that is all the motivation they need.
Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel was fired up when talking to the media this week about his mindsight ahead of the game against Jacksonville.
“It sucks to lose,” Vrabel said. “It (expletive) sucks, losing. Awful. That’s why I want to win. Because you don’t sleep. You want to win for the players that bust their tail, that’s it. It’s not about, ‘we’ll go into the offseason with a good note.’ Nobody knows what you did on January 7 in April when you come back. But you want to see it all come together. Just put four quarters together, win a game.”
Vrabel also talked about the team’s focus needing to be on improving right now to try and win this week.
“With all due respect to our season, and to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the reflection and the improvement hasn’t been there for any of us, not enough if it,” Vrabel said. “Whether that be me, the coaching staff, the players, we just have to continue to strive to improve and clean up the things we see that can affect whether we win or lose, so that’s what we’re going to try and do this week.”
Vrabel acknowledged that the season hasn’t gone the way the team had hoped for, and that he just wants to finish it out strong.
“We are all disappointed and frustrated by how this went this year, but we’re just trying to make sure this is as professional and classy as we finish, that we put the players in the best position to go out there and win, but there’s also a lot of guys who are playing for personal accolades as well, and I am absolutely OK with that,” Vrabel said. “We’ve always said that when you have enough guys that have personal success within what we are trying to do as a team, we are going to have plenty of team success. Those things have to co-exist, and I want them to one more week.”
In the Titans loss last week to Houston, quarterback Will Levis left midway through the second quarter with a foot injury. Veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill came in in relief of Levis, finishing the game by completing 16 of 20 passes for 168 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Vrabel wants to see how the week goes before making a final decision.
“We’ll see,” Vrabel said. “We’ll evaluate that through the week, and we’ll see how practice goes. And then we’ll prepare accordingly and make sure that we give everybody the best opportunity to win the football game. We’ll see about everybody’s health as they work through treatment today and practice and treatment through the week.
Levis didn’t practice this week until Thursday, returning with two heavily taped feet and ankles. Levis spoke with the media earlier in the week and talked about how the injury is affecting him.
“It’s frustrating, it’s annoying,” Levis said. “That’s probably the word I’d used to describe it, it’s annoying. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to keep the right mindset and do what I can to get ready and get healthy. But it’s nothing too serious, and it’s nothing to be too worried about it.”
The Titans are 3-6 in Levis’ nine starts this season and are 2-5 in Tannehill’s five starts. In Week 11, Levis completed 13 of 17 passes for 158 yards and two scores against the Jaguars. But Jacksonville won the game 34-14 in one of their better performances of the year at home.
On Friday, Coach Vrabel announced after practice that it will be Tannehill getting the start against the Jaguars in the season finale.
For Tannehill, this could certainly be his last game as a Titan. His contract expires in March, but for right now his focus is on the final game of the season.
“Having the chance of playing helps me stay focused,” Tannehill said. “I’m sure if I was just kind of sitting around, I’d have a little more time. But having the chance to play, keeping my focus on that, I’m trying to prepare myself, if need be, to be ready to go.”
Tannehill also talked about being able to leave Tennessee on a high note.
“I spent five years of my life here in this organization,” Tannehill said. “A lot of great people. I would love to be able to leave it on a win.”
The Titans are always dangerous in the run game, even if Derrick Henry isn’t putting up his normal rushing numbers. But Henry’s 42 yards last week was enough to put him past the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the fifth time in his career. He is now the 10th player in NFL history to tally at least five seasons with 1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced Henry as Tennessee’s only representative for the 2024 Pro Bowl after voting.
Tennessee is out of the playoff race and may not seem like it has much to play for, but Henry knows the impact a win against Jacksonville would have on this team.
“It would definitely put a smile on everybody’s faces, not going to lie,” Henry said. “To go out with a win, it’s going to be tough.”
And he says he is as motivated as ever.
“Sometimes you need a year like this to be able to grow, to be able to learn, to be able to reflect,” Henry said. “I am definitely going to do that once this season is over. If I wasn’t fueled before, I am definitely more fueled now, definitely more hungry. Going into this offseason, I am going to attack it as hard as I can. At the end of the day, it is about being consistent and playing at a high level. I am my worst critic, so I am going to be hard on myself regardless.”
In Week 11, the Jaguars defense held Henry to just 38 yards on 10 carries. Jacksonville’s defense found its groove again last week, holding Carolina to just 57 yards on the ground and sacking Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young six times.
The defensive unit will look to keep that same energy against Henry and the Titans on Sunday.