December 4, 2018
The Jacksonville Jaguars were the darlings of last season in winning the AFC South. However, everything that could go wrong in 2018 largely has with the Jags currently 4-8 and sitting last in the division. So who will come out on top in these Jaguars vs Titans odds?
Tennessee was a wild-card team last year and that’s the Titans’ only hope for postseason football this season at 6-6. While it’s not impossible, it is highly unlikely, though. For sure, the Titans need to win their fourth straight in this series. In perhaps the ugliest offensive game of any in 2018, Tennessee won in Jacksonville 9-6 in Week 3. Ryan Succop’s third field goal, a 28-yarder with 4:06 left, was the winner. The teams combined for 465 yards, or what the Chiefs can put up through three quarters.
The Jaguars vs Titans odds have Tennessee as 4.5-point favorites for the matchup between these teams on Thursday night, with the team our against the spread pick. The total is set at 37.5 points.
Tennessee played a big AFC South game in Houston on Monday in Week 12 and was dominated. The Titans perhaps were a bit flat off that one on a short week Sunday as they fell behind a bad Jets team 16-0, but rallied to win 26-22 on Marcus Mariota‘s 11-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis with 36 seconds remaining.
Perhaps many don’t think of Mariota as a great fourth-quarter quarterback, but his seven game-winning drives since the start of 2017 is tied for the most in the NFL. Moreover, Mariota got a weapon back against New York in Taywan Taylor, who caught three passes for 104 yards – all in the fourth quarter. He hadn’t played since Week 9 due to injury.
Mariota, incidentally, is 5-2 against Jacksonville, his most wins against any opponent.
Maybe we have to rethink our statement above that the Titans’ 9-6 win over the Jaguars was the ugliest game of the year. After all, Jacksonville’s 6-0 win over the Colts on Sunday might have surpassed it. That stopped the Jags’ seven-game losing streak and the Colts’ five-game winning run.
Cody Kessler took over as the quarterback for a benched Blake Bortles and was okay, completing 18 of 24 passes for 150 yards. At least he didn’t turn it over. It was Kessler’s first career win in nine starts. Jacksonville had just 211 yards as it missed suspended starting running back Leonard Fournette. He will return for this game.
The NFL odds for this game saw the spread open at some books as Titans -3.5, and the total has dropped a half-point.