By: Jack Gold

This Sunday, the Tennessee Titans (3-9) host the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10), a team amidst an equally disappointing season, in a battle that will have a large impact on the top of the 2025 NFL draft.

Last Time Out

Titans 19

Commanders 42

TEN

Will Levis – 18/37, 212 yds, 2 TD

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine – 3 rec, 61 yds, 2 TD

Amani Hooker – 4 solo, 1 INT

WSH

Jayden Daniels – 25/30, 206 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT, 9 car, 34 yds, 1 TD

Brian Robinson – 16 car, 103 yds, 1 TD

Chris Rodriguez – 13 car, 94 yds, 1 TD

Terry McLaurin – 8 rec, 73 yds, 2 TD

Jaguars 20

Texans 23

JAX

Mac Jones – 20/32, 253 yds, 2 TD

Travis Etienne – 13 car, 46 yds, 3 rec, 12 yds

Parker Washington – 6 rec, 103 yds, 1 TD

HOU

C.J. Stroud – 22/34, 242 yds, 1 TD

Joe Mixon – 20 car, 101 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec, 18 yds

Nico Collins – 8 rec, 119 yds

Dalton Schultz – 5 rec, 61 yds, 1 TD

The Matchup

Tennessee Offense vs Jacksonville Defense

After going through a gauntlet of tough defenses since his return from injury, Will Levis and the Titans offense get their easiest test of the year in week 14. The worst passing defense in the NFL, the Jags give up 273 yards per game through the air and have shown little to no signs of improvement – as they allowed 412 yards from Jared Goff two weeks ago.

It’s an uninspiring group that struggles to stop the run and pass and rarely gets to the quarterback – setting up perfectly for Levis to continue his improvement and move closer to being the Titans’ quarterback in 2025. 

The second-year gunslinger has been a major bright spot – maybe the only bright spot last week. The mistakes are still there, but they are significantly reduced from his early season struggles and the “wow” throws are showing up more and more every game.

Despite having a defensive line with Josh Allen, Arik Armstead and former number one overall pick Travon Walker, the Jags rank 28th in sacks, 30th in pressures and 31st in QB hits.

Though not quite worst-in-the-NFL bad, the Jags also rank bottom-10 in most rushing defense statistics. It will be key for Tony Pollard and the run game to get going after underperforming in three of the last four weeks. 

Tennessee Defense vs Jacksonville Offense

Mac Jones will lead the way for the Jaguars on Sunday after a vicious hit from the now suspended Azeez Al-Shaair on Trevor Lawrence put him on injured reserve and likely ended his season.

It’s a downgrade at the QB spot, but not as significant as it may seem. Lawrence has struggled for the majority of the season and the offense has operated similarly with Jones in the lineup. 

Alongside Jones is a solid running back duo: Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. Both provide different skill sets – Etienne a elusive pass catcher and Bigsby a bruiser – and the Jags will likely continue their “hot hand” approach with the two. 

Through the air, season-ending injuries to Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis have weakened their pass attack, but pro bowl tight end Evan Engram and rookie standout Brian Thomas Jr. still remain and will be a focal point for the Titans secondary.

Similar to the Titans offense, a large part of Jacksonville’s struggles are caused by their offensive line – a bottom-five unit in the NFL. Though the Titans pass rush has struggled to generate sacks this season, the impact of their interior defensive line of Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat has been felt and will likely continue this week versus an inferior group in front of them.

In the secondary, Jarvis Brownlee has looked like a steal of a pick in the fifth round but has continued to struggle with penalties due to his physical and unpolished game. The Titans will likely get Chidobe Awuzie back from IR this week providing a significant boost to their efforts against Jones, Engram and Thomas.

Things to Watch

Will Levis

As is every week, Will Levis’ performance will be at the top of the list of things to pay attention to – good or bad. Thankfully, things have been on an upward trend as of late and Levis seems to be on track to be the Titans’ quarterback again in 2025 – a positive given the other obvious needs on the roster. Limiting negative plays while producing explosives with his arm has been and will continue to be key to his success.

Calvin Ridley’s Revenge Game

Revenge is a strong word as Ridley technically chose to leave the Jaguars this offseason despite their efforts to keep him around, but judging from his comments when he signed with Tennessee, Ridley was unhappy with the way he was used and treated in Jacksonville. Sunday is lining up to be an opportunity for a huge game for Ridley as he’s continued to build chemistry with Levis with the Jags secondary has continued to struggle.

Getting Tony Pollard Back on Track

Tony Pollard has been a major success of a free agent signing this season but the team has been unable to get him going several times in recent weeks. His struggles have mostly been game script based – being down 28-0 early last week didn’t help his cause – but when the Titans get him going they are much more likely to win. A Jags front that has been subpar against the run this season should signal a good game from him on Sunday.

NWI = Touchdowns

The Nick Westbrook-Ikhine breakout is equally hilarious and legitimate. The former undrafted free agent is currently having a record-breaking season – that record being touchdowns to receptions ratio as he currently holds the all-time NFL record with eight TDs (fourth in the NFL) on only 20 total receptions.

They are laughable numbers, but the eye test backs up that this is no fluke. When the Titans need a big catch on third down, he makes it. When they take a deep shot down field, he’s open. He’s gone from a good-blocking, depth/special-teams receiver to a key part of what they do through the air. 

Defensive Bounceback

Last week was arguably the Titans defense’s worst performance of the year as the Commanders ran all over them from the opening snap. It was both shocking and embarrassing, but hopefully was just an anomaly. 

It is almost unexplainable how a defensive front with T’Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons could give up an efficient 267 yards on the ground, but it happened. The unit will need to get back to their ‘nobody runs on the Titans” mentality Sunday against a solid RB duo.

Game Information

Tennessee Titans vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Time: December 8, 2024 @ 12:00 PM CDT

Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville, TN)

TV Broadcast: CBS

TV Broadcast Crew: Andrew Catalon, Jason McCourty, Tiki Barber, AJ Ross

Radio: Titans Radio (104-5 The Zone)

Radio Crew: Mike Keith, Dave McGinnis, Ramon Foster, Rhett Bryan, Amie Wells

Referee: Tra Blake

Line: TEN -3.5

Over/Under: 39.5