It was far from smooth sailing for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.
After falling into a 10-0 hole early against the Tennessee Titans, the Jaguars struggled to find a rhythm on offense and looked dead in the water in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville never led Saturday until the final minutes when a massive strip sack by Rayshawn Jenkins was scooped up by Josh Allen for a go-ahead touchdown.
With the 20-16 win on Saturday night, the Jaguars are AFC South champions for only the second time and will host their fifth ever home playoff game.
Here’s how the Jaguars’ division-clinching Week 18 victory went down:
Jaguars MVP of the game: Christian Kirk
Kirk needed two receptions to unlock a $500,000 incentive contract and 91 yards for another $500,000. He got the full $1 million with a stellar night.
His 99 receiving yards were 70 more than any other player on the team and his 25-yard touchdown was the only one of the night for the Jaguars offense.
Titans MVP of the game: Derrick Henry
Henry never broke free for a big one (with the exception of one that came back due to holding), but he provided the majority of the Titans’ offensive output with 109 rushing yards on 30 carries as well as 19 receiving yards.
He was the reason the Titans were on the field for over 36 minutes and he was the biggest reason Tennessee had over 300 yards of offense.
Jaguars play of the game: Rayshawn Jenkins’ strip sack recovered by Josh Allen for a touchdown
The @Jaguars take the lead! #DUUUVAL
📺: #TENvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/7G4GCGiaVR pic.twitter.com/9veHZEkNth— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2023
What initially seemed like it could’ve been ruled an incomplete pass was determined to be a fumble forced by blitzing safety Rayshawn Jenkins. The ball was scooped up by Josh Allen who ran into the end zone untouched to give the Jaguars their first lead of the game.
It was over when the Jaguars defense forced a turnover on downs with less than two minutes to go.
Stat that says it all: Five consecutive stops by the Jaguars defense
The Titans went three-and-out on their first drive, then scored on four straight drives to jump out in front of the Jaguars. While the offense never got going for Jacksonville, it was the defense that flipped a switch and shut down the visitors.
Tennessee finished its night with an interception, punt, punt, fumble, and turnover on downs.
Up next: The Jaguars are through to the postseason where they’ll host either the Los Angeles Chargers or Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round. The date of the game won’t be finalized until the playoff field is set Sunday evening.
