The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars will close out their regular seasons in Week 18 when they meet at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday afternoon.
The Titans were eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago, but there is reason to care about this game if you’re a Titans fan, as a loss will help Tennessee’s cause in landing the highest pick possible in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Titans currently sit in the No. 7 spot but can move up to as high as No. 4 if they lose and get a little help from some of the teams in front of them.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars are trying to punch their ticket to the postseason with a win. A victory over the Titans would clinch the AFC South for Jacksonville, but a loss could mean the Jags miss the playoffs entirely if the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
Despite the Titans having nothing to play for and the Jaguars desperately needing this game, there are still some experts out there who believe Tennessee will emerge victorious.
Find out who exactly that is as we do our final expert picks round-up of the 2023 campaign ahead of the Week 18 battle between Tennessee and Jacksonville.
USA TODAY
Jarrett Bell: Jaguars
Chris Bumbaca: Jaguars
Nate Davis: Titans
Safid Deen: Jaguars
Tyler Dragon: Jaguars
Victoria Hernandez: Titans
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Jaguars
Lorenzo Reyes: Jaguars
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Jaguars
Brooke Cersosimo: Jaguars
Dan Parr: Jaguars
Gennaro Filice: Titans
Tom Blair: Jaguars
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Jaguars 23, Titans 16 – “The Jaguars have had trouble in Nashville in their history, but that won’t be a factor here. Even if Trevor Lawrence can’t play, the Jaguars will do enough to find a way to win this game. The defense will come up big, no matter if it’s Will Levis or Ryan Tannehill for the Titans. Jaguars win it and win the division.”
Will Brinson: Titans
Jared Dubin: Jaguars
John Breech: Jaguars
Tyler Sullivan: Jaguars
Dave Richard: Jaguars
Jamey Eisenberg: Jaguars
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 18 picks
Gary Davenport: Jaguars
Brad Gagnon: Jaguars
Ian Hanford: Jaguars
Kristopher Knox: Titans
Maurice Moton: Jaguars
Wes O’Donnell: Jaguars
Brent Sobleski: Jaguars
MMQB
Albert Breer: Jaguars
Mitch Goldich: Jaguars
Claire Kuwana: Jaguars
Gilberto Manzano: Jaguars
Conor Orr: Titans
John Pluym: Jaguars
Matt Verderame: Jaguars
Pro Football Talk
Pro Football Talk’s Week 18 picks
Mike Florio: Jaguars (20-14)
Chris Simms: Jaguars (24-20)
The Sporting News
The Sporting News’ Week 18 picks
Vinnie Iyer: Jaguars 23, Titans 13 – “The Jaguars’ defense and running game saved them at the right time in a great smash spot against the Panthers. That bodes well for them to come together as a dangerous complete AFC South-winning playoff team for a second straight season with the probable gritty return of Trevor Lawrence. The Titans are feisty under Mike Vrabel, but there’s no longer enough there to compete as hard as they would like.”
Bill Bender: Jaguars 20, Titans 17 – “It’s a pretty straight-forward scenario for the Jaguars. Win, and they take the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) continues to battle late-season injuries, and this is a chance for the Titans to play spoiler at home. Tennessee is 4-3 S/U at home, and all three losses were by three points. This will not be easy for Jacksonville.”
The 33rd Team
Ryan Reynolds: Jaguars 24, Titans 16 – “The Tennessee Titans’ roster is filled with holes, but they are a well-coached team that’s already pulled off several upsets this season. If the Jacksonville Jaguars win this contest, they’ll win the AFC South. Playing the role of spoiler is the only motivation Tennessee has. Trevor Lawrence missed last week’s contest, but there is optimism he’ll return against Tennessee. If he plays, the Jaguars have the raw materials to light up Tennessee’s beatable pass defense. The Titans’ pass rush has been reduced by injury, making Lawrence’s life easier.”
Overall expert tally
Number of experts picking Jaguars: 33
Number of experts picking Titans: 6
