The absolute worst-case scenario unfolded for the Tennessee Titans in a 36-22 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in Week 14.
With the Titans desperately needing to show up and grab a win after two straight losses and the firing of their general manager, they no-showed against their division opponent on Sunday.
Tennessee got off to a fast start, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three drives on the back of a dominant first quarter by Derrick Henry. However, the wheels completely came off after that.
The Titans had a disastrous second quarter that saw them commit two of their three turnovers in the first half, and Jacksonville was able to capitalize with 17 points off of those turnovers to take a 20-14 lead into the half.
And the route was on from there, as the defense had no answer for the Jags’ passing attack and the Titans showed no signs of life on offense after their initial scoring drives, while also committing yet another turnover that Jacksonville turned into points.
Now, let’s dive into the sickening details of the loss.
Final score: Jaguars 36, Titans 22
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| JAX | 7 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 36 |
| TEN | 14 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
It was over when...
Trevor Lawrence connected with Evan Engram for a 21-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, staking the Jaguars to a 33-14 lead. The lifeless Titans had no shot to come back from such a deficit.
Titans' top performers
RB Derrick Henry: 17 carries, 121 yards, TD; 3 catches, 34 yards, 2 FL
TE Chig Okonkwo: 6 catches, 45 yards, TD, 2-point conversion
Instant analysis
-It looked like we were primed for another monster showing from Henry, who was unstoppable in the first quarter and tallied 96 yards. However, he simply couldn’t get anything going after that, as the offensive line reverted back to its poor run-blocking the rest of the game.
-Pass protection wasn’t good all around, either, and especially from Dennis Daley, who was roasted for multiple sacks, including one that led to a lost fumble. Tannehill was sacked four times, and hit nine times in total.
-The turnovers were a major reason for the Titans’ loss on Sunday, Tennessee committed four, and the Jags turned those into 20 points, which in and of itself was enough to win this game. Three of those turnovers halted promising Titans drives, while the other occurred in Titans territory.
-Tannehill was responsible for two of those turnovers, with one coming via pick when he and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine simply weren’t on the same page. The decision itself was not a good one from Tannehill. The other occurred when Daley got dusted by the Jags’ pass-rush, leading to a sack/fumble.
-Henry was credited with two fumbles lost, but one of them was on a bad exchange between he and Tannehill. The other was on a reception that saw Henry simply lose the ball to thwart a potential scoring drive.
-Tennessee’s pass-rush got no pressure and had zero sacks, which completely exposed a depleted Titans secondary that got roasted all game long.
-The Titans had no answer for Evan Engram and Zay Jones, with the former having a career-best day. David Long was badly missed over the middle, and once again Denico Autry was badly missed in the pass-rush.
-The only thing the Titans’ defense did well was stopping the run, as the Jags averaged 2.4 yards per carry and 60 rushing yards in total.
-Tennessee even got outplayed on special teams, and in fact the Jaguars should’ve had a return touchdown in this game if not for a questionable holding call. On three punt returns, the Titans averaged 1.3 yards per.
Injuries
RB Dontrell Hilliard (neck): Hilliard was shaken up in the second quarter and was carted to the locker room. He didn’t return.
DL Jeffery Simmons (arm): Simmons got hurt in the second quarter.
What's next?
With the loss on Sunday, the Titans now fall to 7-6 and allow the Jaguars to hang around in the AFC South, while also failing to inch closer to wrapping up the division over the Colts.
It’ll be interesting to see if any heads roll after this one, as this was the last type of performance owner Amy Adams Strunk wanted to see out of her team.
The three-game losing streak is the first for the Titans since 2018, and this is also Jacksonville’s first win in Nashville since all the way back in 2013.
Things won’t get any easier in Week 15, as the Titans draw a tough road matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
