National Football League

Jaguars aim to get season's first win at Titans again

Published Oct. 11, 2014 1:00 p.m. ET

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As bad as the Jacksonville Jaguars have been of late, one thing they've managed to do every year since 2009 is defeat the Tennessee Titans.

When they got off to an 0-8 start last season and it began to seem as if Gus Bradley would never get his first win as a head coach, the Jaguars came to Tennessee, jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead and held on for a 29-27 victory.

At 0-5 but coming off as close to a 60-minute performance as they've put together this year, the Jaguars will go on the road to face a team which has lost four games in a row and is trying to bounce back from one of the biggest collapses in NFL history.

It's not even clear who the Titans will start at quarterback. Jake Locker, who suffered a season-ending foot injury against the Jaguars last November, is banged up and could sit out in favor of journeyman Charlie Whitehurst. After facing Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger the past three weeks, Whitehurst could be just what the doctor ordered for a defense ranked last both overall and against the pass.

Given the modicum of success the Jaguars have enjoyed at the Titans' expense, could history repeat itself?

 "I know we haven't talked much about last year's game," first-year Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We played a couple teams that we played last year already. Jacksonville is a division opponent. We're certainly aware of the success they've had coming into here. I'm not talking about what their record was. They have won here, and we have to be ready."

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Jaguars running game vs. Titans defense against the run.

However you would describe the opposite of the irresistible force against the immovable object, this is it. The Jaguars are 31st out of 32 teams in running the ball -- only the Oakland Raiders are worse -- while the Titans rank 26th in stopping the run.

But this game is not shaping up on paper as one where Blake Bortles will be required to throw the ball 36 or 37 times. Plus, this marks the second week in a row where the Jaguars will have the same starting offensive line since the return of right tackle Austin Pasztor from a fractured right hand suffered in the preseason.

Although a holding penalty by left tackle Luke Joeckel wiped out a 20-yard gain by Jordan Todman which would have given the Jaguars a first-and-goal situation, there were some encouraging signs in the running game during the 17-9 loss to Pittsburgh. With Toby Gerhart out because of a right foot injury, it will be interesting to see how the carries against the Titans are divided up between Todman, second-year man Denard Robinson and rookie Storm Johnson, who was inactive for the first three games.

"How can you argue the fact that Storm, with the little plays that he had, showed up and did some good things? It's not surprising to me," coach Gus Bradley said Monday. "Two weeks ago, he had a good week of practice. Last week, he had a good week. And it's that trust -- he's building trust. So for him to go in there and perform and really capture his opportunity, I thought it was pretty cool to see."

TRENDING UP

Jaguars: After having just one drive of 10 or more plays through their first three games, the Jaguars have had consecutive weeks with drives of that length. The opening possession against the Steelers lasted 15 plays, ran more than eight minutes off the clock, and ended with a 43-yard field goal by Josh Scobee.

Titans: Delanie Walker trails only Jimmy Graham in receiving yards by a tight end this season. He leads the Titans in both receptions (26) and yards (364). In the two games between the Titans and Jaguars a year ago, Walker had eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

TRENDING DOWN

Jaguars: The defense still has not intercepted a pass since the second quarter of the opener Sept. 7 at Philadelphia, when cornerback Alan Ball picked off Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. The Jaguars are tied with the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints for the fewest interceptions after recording a franchise single-season low of 11 in 2013.

Titans: After building a 28-3 halftime lead last week at home against Cleveland, the offense managed only six first downs and 126 total yards. Over the final two quarters, the Titans faced nine third-down situations where they needed to pick up six yards or more. Both Shonn Greene and Bishop Sankey averaged only three yards a carry in the second half.

INJURY REPORT

Jaguars: RB Toby Gerhart (foot) is out. DE Ryan Davis (shoulder), CB Dwayne Gratz (concussion), TE Clay Harbor (back), WR Allen Hurns (foot), RB Storm Johnson (ankle), WR Marqise Lee (hamstring), DT Roy Miller (ankle), LB Paul Posluszny (knee contusion), WR Cecil Shorts III (hamstring) and LB Dekoda Watson (shoulder) are probable.

Titans: T Michael Roos (knee) and TE Craig Stevens (thigh) are out. RB Shonn Greene (hamstring) is doubtful. QB Jake Locker (right hand), CB Coty Sensabaugh (knee) and TE Taylor Thompson (knee) are questionable. TE Delanie Walker (shoulder) and CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson (concussion) are probable.

DID YOU KNOW?

Mike Mularkey, who was the head coach of the Jaguars when they went 2-14 in 2012, is now on the staff of the Titans as their tight ends coach.

QUOTEBOARD

"I don't really believe in rookie mistakes. There are mistakes and there's not mistakes. It's kind of irrelevant when you make the mistake how old you are. People make the same mistakes whether it's your first year or your 15th year. " -- Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, who has thrown six interceptions in 97 passing attempts -- with two of them being returned for touchdowns. His 6.2 interception percentage was the highest of any of the 33 quarterbacks in the league ranked through Week 5.

"It's hard to score touchdowns in the red area in this league. The things that separate teams good in the red zone from being mediocre in the red zone are the small, minute details. That's the big thing we need to focus on. It's easy to do the big things and work on those through the week, and it's harder to be on those details." -- Jaguars left guard Zane Beadles, on their first game without a touchdown since a 24-6 loss to the San Diego Chargers last October. Of their seven TDs this season, all but one have been on passes.

"An ideal number? Every play. I don't know. That's not my call. Obviously we want to run the ball and keep the defense off the field and keep the clock moving. If you're running a lot of plays, it means you're moving the ball and you're ahead. Hopefully we start running it more." -- Jaguars running back Toby Gerhart, who had only four carries for nine yards against the Steelers before leaving with a sprained foot. The Jaguars had 15 rushing plays all game, including a scramble and a quarterback sneak by Bortles on their opening drive.

"The big thing is what we cannot lose is our team spirit. I think the spirit on our team is really good. I can see it when we go out there in practice, how hard they're working, how they're doing the little extra things. That is so critical to our development. But I'm not naive enough to know that things can happen. But that's not a place where we're at right now." -- Jaguars coach Gus Bradley, whose record since being hired to replace Mularkey is 4-17.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Jaguars are home to Cleveland on Oct. 19. The four games the Browns have played this season have been decided by a total of eight points.

You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.

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