Needing a win to get into the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars hit the road to take on the AFC South rival Tennessee Titans and largely choked away a real opportunity to win the AFC South.
A win would have put the Jaguars in the playoffs as the division winner. Instead, the Jaguars choked away the opportunity, losing to the 6-11 Titans, getting eliminated fro the playoffs in the process. The loss by the Jaguars also clinched a playoff spot for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills in the process.
Entering the matchup, there were questions about the health of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was dealing with a shoulder injury and was a game-time decision. Ultimately, he decided to give it a go, and it was a bit sloppy early on. Though he had a 59-yard touchdown to Calvin Ridley that showed his shoulder seemed just fine, Lawrence had two first-half interceptions, though one of them wasn’t his fault as the ball was knocked into the air by Jacksonville tight end Evan Engram, leading to former Steelers’ safety Terrell Edmunds picking off the pass, helping out his former team in the process.
As the Jaguars struggled with self-inflicted mistakes, the Titans took advantage, leaning heavily on running backs Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears.
Henry and the Titans ran all over the Jaguars in the first half. Henry scored on an 18-yard run and Spears had a 22-yard run, adding a 28-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the first half, too.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Titans extended their lead thanks to another big Derrick Henry run. Henry ripped off a 69-yard run, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to DeAndre Hopkins for a 28-13 lead.
Following the Titans’ touchdown that made it a 15-point game, the Jaguars tried to mount a drive to get back into the game, but the Jaguars’ drive ultimately stalled and led to a turnover on downs inside Tennessee territory. The Titans could take advantage of the turnover on downs, punting the football away.
That gave the Jaguars new life. Jacksonville cashed in, making it a one-score game as Lawrence found Evan Engram for a 14-yard touchdown, finishing off a 10-play, 63-yard drive to make it a 28-20 game.
That’s when things got really crazy.
Tannehill opened the door for the Jaguars with an awful interception over the middle that Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco jumped and returned into Jacksonville territory. The Jaguars then drove all the way to the Tennessee 1-yard line, but the Titans had a massive goal-line stand, stopping a Lawrence sneak attempt on fourth down, forcing the turnover on downs to preserve the one-score lead.
Tennessee tried to put the game away, putting together a an eight-play, 30-yard drive to get out of the shadow of their own end, but the drive stalled leading to a punt back to the Jaguars.
Trailing 28-20, the Jaguars had the ball with just over two minutes to go and nearly hit a big play to Calvin Ridley, who was wide open on a deep shot on second down on a blown coverage by the Titans. But the Titans ultimately forced a turnover on downs two plays later, leading to the win, sending the Steelers and the Bills to the playoffs.
The Titans finish the season 6-11, while the Jaguars blew a shot at the AFC South title and finish 9-8.
For Tennessee, Ryan Tannehill completed 17-of-26 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Derrick Henry finished with 153 yard and a touchdown on 19 carries, while DeAndre Hopkins had seven receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. For the Jaguars, Lawrence completed 29-of-43 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Ridley led the Jaguars with 106 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
