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  • January 14, 2025
Titans return home hoping to continue Music City’s dominance over Jaguars

Titans return home hoping to continue Music City’s dominance over Jaguars

Jacksonville (2-10) at Tennessee (3-9)

Sunday, 1pm EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL Odds: Titans by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Jaguars 6-5-1; Titans 2-10.

Series record: Tennessee leads 35-24.

Last meeting: Titans beat the Jaguars 28-20 on January 7, 2024.

Last week: Jaguars lost to the Texans 23-20; Titans lost to the commanders 42-19.

Jaguars offense: overall (28), rush (25), pass (25), score (25)

Jaguars defense: overall (32), rush (24), pass (32), score (31)

Titans offense: overall (29), rush (20, pass (30), score (28)

Titans defense: overall (2), rush (16), pass (2), score (27)

Turnover differential: Jaguars minus-9; Titans plus-13

Jaguars player

to look

DE Josh Hines-Allen is closing in on the franchise sack record. Hines-Allen needs 4½ more to break Tony Brackens’ franchise record of 55. Hines-Allen has at least half a sack in four straight games against Tennessee, which has given up 43 sacks in 2024.

Titans player to watch

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He has eight touchdowns on just 20 receptions after not catching a single pass in the first month of the season. He has scored a TD on 40% of his receptions. That TD percentage ties him for first with Kansas City’s Marc Boerigter in 2002 among 9,040 players with 20 or more catches in a season since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Seven of those eight TD catches came in his past eight games.

Key match

Titans QB Will Levis against a Jaguars defense that has fought the pass mightily. Levis may be having the best month in his second season after sitting out three games with a sprained right shoulder. He has seven TD passes with just two interceptions in this span. He has thrown for 960 yards with a passer rating of 101.4.

Main injuries

Jaguars: CB Tyson Campbell (thigh), P Logan Cooke (knee) and LS Ross Matiscik (hamstring) missed practice Wednesday but hope to get healthy in time to play. The team signed a punter and a long snapper to the practice squad just in case.

Titans: CB Chido Awuzie (groin) is in his second week of practice and is looking to return from injured reserve and could have a chance to be activated for this game. LG Peter Skoronski (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. LB Kenneth Murray (hamstring) did not practice due to an injury that forced him out of last week’s game.

Series notes

These teams began playing each other 30 seasons ago, with the Jaguars joining the NFL as an expansion team and have been division rivals ever since. The Titans defeated all three Jaguars in the 1999 season, including the AFC championship game for the franchise’s only Super Bowl berth. They have dominated the series in recent years with Jacksonville’s 36-22 victory against the Jaguars, the first in a span of ten trips to Nashville. The Jaguars capped off the 2022 season in Jacksonville to keep the Titans from a third straight AFC South title and helped start a streak of three straight losing seasons for Tennessee.

Statistics and all that

The Jaguars have lost five straight and 15 of their past 18 games. …Jacksonville is 1-7 in one-score games, including four of the past five losses. … RB Travis Etienne needs 128 yards to pass Leonard Fournette (2,631) for fourth on the franchise’s career list. He would then follow Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew and James Stewart. … Evan Engram is one of three tight ends in NFL history with 40 or more catches in each of his first eight seasons, along with Jeremy Shockey and George Kittle. … WR Brian Thomas Jr. ranks third among rookies with 765 yards. His 16.6 yards per catch ranks first among rookies. He is the only rookie with multiple receptions of more than 50 yards in 2024. … Levis threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions last week. He has thrown two TD passes in three of his past four games. He had a passer rating of 143.8, threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions and 158 yards in his only career start against the Jaguars last season. … WR Calvin Ridley will play against his previous team for the first time since signing with the Titans as a free agent in March. He has at least 55 yards receiving in five of his past six games. Last season with the Jaguars, he had 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. … RB Tony Pollard led the Titans with 68 scrimmage yards last week and has had at least 60 scrimmage yards in eight of his past nine games. … RB Tyjae Spears had a career-high 2 TDs in his previous game against the Jaguars. … Two-time Pro Bowl DL Jeffery Simmons had a career-high nine tackles last week. … OLB Arden Key had 1 1/2 sacks last week. … CB Daryl Worley led the Titans with a career-high 17 tackles last week. … S Amani Hooker had a season-high seven tackles and his fourth interception of the season last week.

Fantasy tip

Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo. The Jaguars have struggled to land tight ends all season, and Levis has found a good rhythm over the past month with Okonkwo, who had the longest catch of his career for a 70-yard touchdown on Nov. 24.

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