If misery loves company, the Jacksonville Jaguars made sure to join the Tennessee Titans at the bottom of the AFC South standings.
Even better for the Jaguars? The Titans are now below them, thanks to Jacksonville’s second win in three trips to Music City.
Tank Bigsby ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 6:46 left, and the Jaguars broke a five-game losing streak by scoring the last 10 points for a 10-6 victory, ending the Titans’ slim playoff hopes on Sunday.
The Jaguars (3-10) entered the game already eliminated from playoff contention with Trevor Lawrence out for the rest of the season. Jacksonville had only one win in their previous 10 trips to Nashville before this game. The Jaguars hadn’t won a game since October 20.
“It’s sort of a relief, right?” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson after the win. “You know, it’s the excitement. It’s the joy of the work that you put in. And you’re finally rewarded.”
The Titans (3-10) needed to win every game to even have a chance at their first playoff appearance since 2021, when they lost in the divisional round at home. Since then, Tennessee has fired both their general manager and head coach.
The Titans had two late chances to win the game.
“It’s one that we definitely feel like we should have won, could have won and had opportunities to win,” said Titans quarterback Will Levis.
Their best chance came with 1:11 left, but Levis missed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone on fourth-and-3 at the Jaguars’ 9-yard line. Their second chance came with 28 seconds remaining when Levis missed Tyler Boyd on fourth-and-15 from the Tennessee 35-yard line.
Mac Jones filled in for Lawrence and earned his first win in three starts this season.
Jones, who threw for 220 yards, shook off two interceptions and a sack. In the second half, he connected multiple times with rookie Brian Thomas Jr. The LSU first-round draft pick set career highs with eight catches on 12 targets for 86 yards.
“We didn’t quit this time, which is really important for us moving forward,” Jones said. “There was no quit.”
Pederson praised Jones for his perseverance, saying, “That’s one thing about Mac. He just sticks to it. He grinds it out.”
The Jaguars began their comeback with a 23-yard field goal by Cam Little early in the fourth quarter.
Nick Folk kicked two field goals for the Titans, but Tennessee dropped to 1-5 at home this season under first-year coach Brian Callahan, who said the loss was due to their inability to score in the red zone.
“That’s the difference in a tight ball game in a divisional game,” Callahan said. “You’ve got to score touchdowns down there, and we didn’t.”
Levis took a hard hit to his right shoulder when sacked by Josh Hines-Allen to end the first half. Levis stretched his shoulder as he walked to the locker room but returned for the second half, finishing with 168 yards passing.
The Titans’ defense, coming off a tough loss in Washington the week before, made two interceptions. Cornerback Chido Awuzie got the first interception in his first game since September 22, after being activated off injured reserve on Saturday.
But Tennessee couldn’t capitalize on either turnover against a Jacksonville defense ranked last in yards allowed and second-to-last in points allowed. Missing three starters due to injuries, the Titans’ defense couldn’t stop the Jaguars in the fourth quarter.
“I’m tired of saying we’ve got to do better, play better,” said Titans two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. “I don’t know. I don’t have any answers. Complementary football wasn’t there.”
