Yes, it is possible for two teams that are a combined 5-13 to be playing a meaningful football game in the middle of November. Welcome to the AFC South, where mediocrity rules and the first team to seven wins just might be hosting a playoff game in January.
Titans vs. Jaguars 2015, ‘Thursday Night Football’ preview: AFC South contenders battle in Jacksonville
The Titans and Jaguars have combined for five wins this season, but both teams are both still alive in the woeful AFC South.
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans (2-7) and Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) face off in a primetime battle on Thursday Night Football, with both teams chasing the division-leading Houston Texans (4-5) and Indianapolis Colts (4-5) and fighting to keep their postseason dreams alive. At the very least, we'll probably see a competitive game -- the Titans and Jaguars have split their last 20 meetings dating back to 2005, and more than half of those matchups have been decided by one score or less.
The Titans are coming of a tough defeat at the hands of the unbeaten Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Tennessee was able to keep the game within reach for the first few quarters, but the Panthers scored 13 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 27-10 win. Although they are only two games out of first place in the AFC South, the Titans face an uphill battle to jump over the other three teams. Their remaining slate is one of the toughest in the group, with non-divisional games against the Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and New England Patriots.
After a controversial win at Baltimore on Sunday, the Jaguars now have legitimate playoff hopes as they sit just one game behind the Colts and Texans. The projections at Fivethirtyeight.com have their postseason chances at only 11 percent, but with a favorable remaining schedule, you cannot count them out of the race. Thanks to four divisional matchups in their final seven games, plus contests against the lowly San Diego Chargers (2-7) and New Orleans Saints (4-6), Jacksonville faces just one more team with a current winning record (Atlanta Falcons).
Digits
If the Titans are going to remain in the thick of the eminently winnable AFC South race with a win on Thursday, they need to find a way to squeeze some more offense out of their depleted roster. Aside from a 35-point outburst in Week 9 against the Saints -- who just fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan -- the Titans are averaging a pathetic 9.2 points in their last five games and have scored a total of four touchdowns in those contests.
With Kendall Wright hurting and Justin Hunter out for the season with a fractured ankle, quarterback Marcus Mariota has few reliable weapons outside of tight end Delanie Walker. If the Titans are unable to move the ball through the air, that puts more pressure on their struggling run game to produce yards and points. However, that sets up to be a monumental task for Tennessee, going up against the Jaguars' top-ranked rushing defense (3.3 yards per rush allowed).
After a rough 1-5 start, the Jaguars have won two of their last three games and are playing their best football of the season. In order for Jacksonville to make a legitimate run at a playoff berth down the stretch, it has to build on a couple key positive takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Ravens.
First, a defense that has struggled to force turnovers all season had four takeaways on Sunday -- more than half of their total in their first eight games combined. Second, kicker Jason Myers got a much-needed boost of confidence, and likely saved his job, after drilling the game-winning 53-yard field goal. Myers had already shanked a 26-yard chip shot in the third quarter, and had been on the hot seat since Week 7 when he misfired on his third PAT of the season.
Who to Watch
If there is one reason to watch this game if you're not a Jags or Titans fan, it's the intriguing quarterback battle between last year's third overall draft pick (Blake Bortles) and this year's second selection (Marcus Mariota).
Bortles has shown tremendous improvement in his sophomore campaign, but is coming off his worst outing of the season. He completed less than half his passes and averaged just 4.2 yards per attempt against the Ravens. Now, the question remains whether that game was merely a blip in a promising season, or the start of a downward trend toward his rookie performance levels.
The most impressive part of Mariota’s season has probably been his accuracy and efficiency under center. He’s completing 65.5 percent of his passes -- on pace to be the third-best completion percentage by a rookie with at least 200 throws -- while averaging an excellent 8.0 yards per attempt. He’s had a couple ugly performances but has also flashed some big-time ability, and shown that he has the tools to be a legit pocket passer in the NFL.
How to Watch
When: 8:25 p.m. ET
Where: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.
TV: NFL Network
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online: NFL GamePass
Odds
The Jaguars are 2.5-point favorites and the over/under is 43, per OddsShark.com.
Preliminary Judgment
The experts are leaning towards the Jaguars picking up their fourth win of the season. Seven of the eight guys at CBS Sports are taking the home team, but our crew at SB Nation is more mixed. Jacksonville is still the favorite, but by a slimmer 5-3 margin.
Further Reading
For more on the Titans, head over to Music City Miracles. To get caught up on the Jaguars, check out Big Cat Country.
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