Doug Marrone makes intentions clear for Sunday’s game vs Tennessee Titans

With debate in the air on how to treat Sunday, Doug Marrone takes a stance on how the Jacksonville Jaguars will handle the game.

The Jacksonville Jaguars know their spot in the playoffs is secured regardless of the outcome of this week’s game against the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars are locked into the three seed, and will host a wild card game in Jacksonville.

Like is always the case with teams in the final week of the regular season with the assurance of knowing they can’t move up or down, discussion has arose on how the Jaguars would treat this game that doesn’t help or hurt them in the playoff picture.

Well in the weekly session with the media, head coach Doug Marrone made the objective on Sunday clear.

Marrone emphasizes the Jaguars are playing to win the game on Sunday. Considering the aggressiveness and competitiveness of Marrone, as well as VP of Football Operations Tom Coughlin, that perspective should not come as a surprise.

Now whether Marrone will lighten his stance as the week goes on, or how long the starters actually play against the Titans will have to be seen. But as of now, Jacksonville appears to be taking the route the team has taken all season, and treating this game like the other 15 on the schedule.

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There are a few reasons Marrone has seemingly chosen to go for the victory on Sunday. One, aforementioned, is just his philosophy of wanting to win every game, regardless of circumstances.

But the choice to be aggressive was most certainly heightened by the lackadaisical effort by the team last week against the 49ers. Jacksonville needs to regroup, and to get that awful taste out of their mouth. Hitting the playoffs on a two game skid would be a bit of a dark cloud on a magical season. More importantly, gaining back some momentum right before the postseason starts would be a crucial bonus to a team making their first appearance in a decade.

Worth noting as well, is just simply looking at who the opponent is in week 17. Jacksonville could play spoiler to a heated divisional rival, by almost certainly knocking the Titans out of playoff contention with a win. Inversely, a Titans win would clinch them a spot and the teams would match up two weeks in a row, and third time this season, if the Ravens also beat the Bengals.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are locked into place in the AFC playoffs whether the team wins or loses on Sunday. But Doug Marrone has made it clear that the Jaguars are playing to win against the Titans in the regular season finale.