A late Blake Bortles touchdown put the Jaguars ahead in Jacksonville
Final Score
Tennessee Titans 3-3-7-0 — 13
Jacksonville Jaguars 0-6-3-10 — 19
In what was hyped as a meeting of two young quarterbacks, defenses shined in Jacksonville as the Jaguars edged out a 19-13 win over the Titans.
After a first half loaded with field goals, things started to develop in the third quarter. Marcus Mariota scored his first career rushing touchdown, on a 20 yard naked bootleg.
After a Blake Bortles interception in the redzone, it looked as if the Titans had the game on ice in the fourth. But Jacksonville had new life after a missed Succop field goal, and made plays late to keep the game within striking distance.
They got their chance with under four minutes remaining, when Rashad Greene returned to the Jaguars with a bang. The Florida State product, who had missed the previous seven games with a thumb injury, returned a punt 63 yards to the Titans goal line. The Jaguars scored on the next play, on a short strike from Bortles to Julius Thomas.
On the first play of the Titans next drive, Phillip Supernaw coughed up the football back to Jacksonville. A Jason Myers field goal pushed the lead to six, and gave the Titans less than two minutes to drive the field with no timeouts.
Mariota completed six short passes on the game’s final drive, but was sacked by Andre Branch on the game’s final play.
Don’t look now, but the Jaguars are a .500 football team and eyeing the postseason. They may have edged this matchup, but things could be different when these teams meet again in just two weeks.
Fourth Quarter Recap
The fourth quarter started with concern for Jaguars fans, as cameras showed Chad Henne warming up on the sidelines. Bortles briefly headed to the locker room, but emerged before the Jaguars offense took the field. It was later revealed he was dealing with dehydration.
Meanwhile, the Titans were knocking on the door again. Faced with a fourth and two, Mike Murlarkey elected to, once again, settle for a Ryan Succop field goal. This time Succop pushed it right, giving new life to the rehydrated Jaguars.
After an acrobatic 28 yard catch from Allen Robinson, it looked like the Jaguars were ready to re-take the game. But on the next play, Bortles shorted a sideline pass to Julius Thomas, and he was intercepted by Zach Brown of the Titans.
The teams traded punts over the next five minutes, with the defenses stepping up late. The game turned with just under four minutes remaining, when Rashad Greene returned a punt 63 yards inside the Titans five-yard line. The Jaguars came out in a spread formation for their first play, and Bortles hit Julius Thomas to out the Jaguars back on top.
Blake Bortles to Julius Thomas (5-yard pushoff) for TD. Jaguars 16, Titans 13, with 3:30 to play
Mariota and the Titans went looking for a response, but they didn’t last long. Phillip Supernaw was stripped on the first play of the drive, turning the ball over to Jacksonville. The ensuing drive ended with another Myers field goal, pushing the lead to six.
The Titans offense got one last chance with just over one minute remaining, starting from their own 20 with no timeouts. The Titans used all the clock with short passes down the field, giving them one play from the 23-yard line with five seconds remaining. On the game’s final play, Mariota rolled right and was poised to throw, but was sacked by Andre Branch to secure the victory for Jacksonville.
Windmilled… Jaguars, 19-13.
Third Quarter Recap
The Jaguars started the second half aggressive, taking the ball into Titans territory on the first drive of the third. Bortles completed passes to four different receivers, and a connection with Robinson for 17 had the Jaguars at first and goal. When it came time to punch it in, the Jaguars ran the ball three straight times. They were stuffed, and settled for another Myers field goal.
As the offenses opened up, the Titans threatened for the game’s first touchdown. Mariota almost had it on a deep pass to Delanie Walker, but the pass fell incomplete and Walker stayed down after hitting his head. On the next play, Mariota took matters into his own hands. He faked a handoff to Andrews, and scooted around the outside for hist first career rushing touchdown.
After getting a stop, the Titans headed into the final quarter with a chance to go up by two scores for the first time.
Second Quarter Recap
The Titans responded in the second of a drive of their own, aided by a defensive holding penalty on a third and eight. With receivers Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright out with injuries, Mariota was targeting Dorial Green-Beckham often. It worked early on the drive, but Mariota missed DGB on a deep ball and the Titans kicked another field goal.
The Jaguars quickly moved into Titans territory on their next drive, and were poised to answer. But a Bortles sneak on third and short went awry, and the Titans took over. In what had been a pattern for Thursday night games, the Titans went three and out.
After another Titans flop, the Jaguars took over with just over one minute before halftime. On the drive’s first play he tossed a jump ball to Allen Robinson, who hauled it in for 38 yards. The Jaguars looked like they were marching in before halftime, but a third-down sack by Brian Orakpo forced the tying kick from Jason Myers. The Titans attempted a few deep passes before halftime, but were unable to move the ball.
First Quarter Recap
Once everyone got over tonight’s uniforms, it was good to get down to football. Marcus Mariota continued to play smart football on the Titans’ opening drive, but the drive stalled.
The teams traded three and outs for most of the opening quarter, but the Jaguars put a nice drive together near the end. Bryan Walters picked up 31 yards on a third down, and the Jags offense followed up with a 15-yard run from Yeldon. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Jaguars were unable to finish the drive.
Game Preview
Besides the Texans, the AFC South has developed into an interesting place for young quarterbacks. The three other teams have all seemed to find their missing piece in recent years, and are now enjoying watching some of the NFL’s brightest minds develop.
When he was first drafted, it wasn’t so obvious Blake Bortles belonged in this conversation. The Central Florida prospect came out of nowhere, and showed flashes in his rookie season despite his record (3-10) as a starter.
This season, Bortles has made strides in his development, and has the Jaguars relevant. There are a number of reasons for Bortles’ success. He has a running game this year, as T.J. Yeldon has made an immediate impact on the offense. He’s getting career years from Allens Hurns and Robinson, making the Jaguars more explosive and harder to defend. And his numbers have gotten better midseason since the addition of Julius Thomas to the lineup.
How explosive are the Jaguars this season? Jacksonville, and more specifically Bortles, has 40 pass plays of 20-plus yards this season. That’s good for third in the NFL, trailing only the Saints and Cardinals.
Brees, Palmer, Bortles. Sounds about right.
