Jaguars face huge game against division-rival Titans

By Dustin Fletcher | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Jacksonville Jaguars shocked the world by beating the Indianapolis Colts in week one, with a score of 27-20. The Colts were expected to play well behind new quarterback Phillip Rivers, but the Jaguars young defense stepped up. However, the Jaguars will face a familiar foe with many faces returning. None other is more terrifying to Jacksonville as running back Derrick Henry. 

Henry has terrorized the Jaguars for his whole career, with one moment in particular standing out. In 2018, Henry had the longest rushing touchdown in NFL history (99 yards) en route to a huge victory for the Titans. In last year’s game in Nashville, Henry ran 19 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns en route to his NFL rushing title. 

Additionally, the Jaguars have not beaten the Titans in Nashville since 2013, when the match up was Blaine Gabbert vs. Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. 

This Jaguars team, as I have said multiple times before, is a new team. This team is more of a team than any Jaguars roster since the 2017 season. All of the locker room is rowing in the same direction, and the offense is humming. Every player is fighting for their job and want to be in Jacksonville, a huge departure from the norm of 2019. 

The Jaguars split the season series last year, but lost the game in Nashville after Marcus Mariota was benched for Ryan Tannehill. The Tannehill led Titans won the game 42-20, and the Jaguars played a sloppy game on defense and looked anemic on offense. 

If the offense can get moving through the air and on the ground through James Robinson, the Jaguars will have a good chance to move to 2-0 after the Titans announced their top receiver A.J. Brown will not play this week. 

If Minshew can keep the offense humming, and the defense sticks to their “stop the run” mantra, the Jags have a good chance to go on a huge roll from weeks 1-4.

Prediction: Titans 27 – Jaguars 20