JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Liam Coen refuses to talk down on the worst team in the NFL or look ahead to anything.
The Jaguars (7-4) are the favorites for Sunday’s game at Tennessee (1-10), and shouldn’t be too fearful of the struggling Titans. Tennessee has already fired its head coach and is already looking at its second straight year of holding the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Coen won’t have any of that type of easy-win conversation talk.
“This is a team that if you just watch the tape, which doesn’t lie typically, this is not a team that thinks or is playing like they’re 1-10,” Coen said.
“That’s the reality and so, they have enough game wreckers and players that can impact the game in all three phases that we cannot feel — there’s just no room for that. I hope and believe that we are mature enough and honest enough with ourselves and with each other that this is a team that is going to be hungry for a win. There’s a lot of reasons. And it’s the NFL.”
The Jaguars needed overtime to beat two of the league’s weakest teams (Raiders, Cardinals) and aren’t in any sort of position to think that they’re so far ahead that they can’t be upset.
That’s especially true when it comes to the Titans. Jacksonville fans don’t have to think back too far to remember the last time Tennessee ruined things.
The Week 18 finale in 2023 is just the latest example of how dangerous a down Titans team can be. All the Jaguars needed to do was beat the five-win Titans to win the AFC South.
Tennessee pulled the 28-20 upset and ended Jacksonville’s season at 9-8. It was the beginning of the end for the Jaguars regime. Doug Pederson fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell after that second-half collapse, and owner Shad Khan would fire Pederson a year later after the Jaguars finished 4-13.
Even with a new regime in the organization, the Jaguars have no interest in taking a struggling Titans team lightly.
Jacksonville was a win-or-else situation back then. It’s not that dire in Week 13 against the Titans. If the season ended today, the Jaguars would be in the playoffs as a wild-card team. They’ve still got a path to winning the division — they face the AFC South-leading Colts twice in the next month — so they can’t afford to cede any more ground. Coen said Jacksonville isn’t looking at anything beyond Sunday’s game or any postseason scenarios.
“No, we haven’t talked to any big picture at all. I honestly could not tell you at all where we stand in terms of where we are, what implications that every game has,” Coen said. “Like I swear to you, I have no idea. So, I think it’s best to keep it that way for all of us and really just take it one day at a time, one game at a time because we all know how volatile this league is.”
Jacksonville could get receiver Brian Thomas Jr. back for Sunday’s game. That would give quarterback Trevor Lawrence his fullest roster of receivers this season. Thomas hasn’t played since the team traded for Jakobi Meyers. Third-year receiver Parker Washington has really emerged as a pass catcher, which has made disappointing free agent signee Dyami Brown a forgotten man in the offense. Tight end Brenton Strange is also in his second game back after missing more than a month on injured reserve.
About the game
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. CBS.
BetMGM NFL odds: Jaguars by 6 1/2.
Against the spread: Jaguars 6-5, Titans 5-6.
Series record: Titans lead 35-26.
Last meeting: Jaguars won 20-13 in Jacksonville on Dec. 29, 2024.
Last week: Jaguars beat the Cardinals 27-24 in OT; Titans lost to the Seahawks 30-24.
Jaguars offense: overall (16), rush (8), pass (21), scoring (12).
Jaguars defense: overall (17), rush (1), pass (25), scoring (16).
Titans offense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (30), scoring (30).
Titans defense: overall (26), rush (25), pass (19), scoring (29).
Turnover differential: Jaguars plus-4; Titans minus-4.
Jaguars player to watch
Brenton Strange caught five passes for 93 yards in his return from a hip injury and could be targeted even more against the Titans. One of the best blocking tight ends in the league, Strange also helped the Jaguars run for 134 yards at Arizona last week.
Titans player to watch
Chimere Dike. The rookie has quickly become a top wide receiver for fellow rookie Cam Ward. Dike also leads the NFL in all-purpose yards with 1,760 yards, and he scored two touchdowns last week. That includes his second punt return for a TD this season with his latest a 90-yarder.
Key matchup
Titans rookie QB Cam Ward against the Jaguars’ passing defense. Ward is coming off his best game yet as a passer with 256 yards passing. He also ran for a season-high 37 yards and his first TD last week. He leads all rookies in passing yards, and the Jaguars are giving up 240 yards a game through the air.
Key injuries
Jaguars: CB Greg Newsome, DE Danny Striggow (knee) and OL Chuma Edoga (calf) are dealing with minor injuries. WR Brian Thomas Jr. (ankle), CB Jourdan Lewis (shoulder/neck) and TE Hunter Long (hip/knee) could return after missing consecutive games.
Titans: WR Elic Ayomanor should have a chance to return from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the previous game. LT Dan Moore Jr. (knee) was limited and C Lloyd Cushenberry (foot) did not practice Wednesday. S Xavier Woods also is limited trying to return from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the past three games. S Kendall Brooks, who missed the previous game, and DT Shy Tuttle both are in the concussion protocol.
Series notes
This series started in 1995 with the Jaguars’ debut as an expansion franchise with these teams meeting in Jacksonville’s first regular-season game. The then-Houston Oilers won that game and won the only playoff game between these teams. Tennessee is 19-11 at home, including 19-7 at Nissan Stadium, and 16-15 in Jacksonville thanks to their AFC championship win. The Jaguars swept last season’s series and have won five of the past six. This will be Titans interim coach Mike McCoy’s first game in this rivalry. McCoy is 4-0 all time against the Jaguars with the Chargers. McCoy was the Jaguars’ quarterbacks coach between 2022 and 2024 before being hired this offseason as a senior offensive assistant with the Titans.
Stats and stuff
The Jaguars have won three of four. Their past three road games have been dramatic, winning twice in overtime and blowing a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at Houston. … Trevor Lawrence has at least 210 yards passing in each of his six starts against the Titans. … RB Travis Etienne has at least 70 yards from scrimmage in three consecutive games. … WR Jakobi Meyers has developed a strong rapport with Lawrence and has at least 50 yards receiving in consecutive games. … DE Josh Hines-Allen has at least one sack in three of his past four games. He has at least a sack in five of his past six against the Titans. LB Foye Oluokun needs 10 tackles for his sixth consecutive season with at least 100 tackles. … PK Cam Little has made 22 consecutive kicks, including eight field goals. Little, 22, is the youngest player in NFL history with 40 career field goals. … The Titans have lost six straight with McCoy the interim coach for the past five. They have lost 10 straight at home and a loss Sunday would tie the longest home skid since this team left Houston in 1997. The Titans converted five of seven fourth downs last week. … K Joey Slye has seven field goals of 50 yards or longer, tying Stephen Gostkowski (2020) for the most in franchise history for a single season. … The Titans’ rookies have a combined 88 catches, second in the NFL behind Cleveland (100). … LB Cedric Gray ranks third in the NFL with 105 total tackles.
Fantasy tip
Rookie TE Gunnar Helm led the Titans with six catches for 51 yards last week.
This report contains information from The Associated Press
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