Jacksonville Jaguars skid to regular season finish line with 15-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans

The Jacksonville Jaguars fail to close out the regular season on a high note with second loss of the season to the Tennessee Titans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had nothing to gain or lose from Sunday’s game vs. the Titans in the playoff picture. But the Jaguars still decided to play for the win, and potentially knock their bitter foe out of the playoffs. But in a sloppy, mistake-filled contest, it was clear the game was not going to fall in Jacksonville’s favor.

The Jaguars offense completely sputtered and managed to put up only three points all game. Blake Bortles had a really poor performance, completing just 15 of 34 attempts and throwing two interceptions. The offensive line didn’t do him or the rushing attack any favors as well. Josh Wells stepped in for Cam Robinson, and got abused by the Titans defensive line. The run game never found their footing, and failed again to reach 100 yards total on the ground. The defense gave Bortles and company numerous opportunities to lead a game-winning drive late but the offense folded all evening.

Mistakes were plentiful by rookies, on both offense and special teams. With the deficit only 6-3 right before halftime, Jaydon Mickens tried to do too much on a punt that he couldn’t get close enough to field, trying instead to block a Titans defender and had the ball bounce off his leg for an opponent recovery. On the ensuing offensive possession for Jacksonville, Keelan Cole fumbled the ball after catching it on a crossing route, and again it was recovered by the Titans. Then in the fourth quarter, on Bortles’ best throw of the game, Dede Westbrook dropped an easy touchdown pass. These mistakes obviously turned out to be extremely costly in what ended up just a five point defeat.

The defense rebounded from their woeful performance against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, and was the reason Jacksonville even had a chance to steal a win late in the fourth quarter. Even with the offense being a no show, Jacksonville held Tennessee to only 15 points. That stat is even more impressive when you look at where the Titans started drives. Tennessee started offensive possessions on the Jaguars side of the field four times on Sunday. On those drives, the Jaguars defense only gave up six points, and even scooped up and returned a fumble for six points of their own. The defense wanted this game and it showed. The effort was there this week, and the guys on defense tried to will the offense to snatching a win, but it just didn’t happen as the Titans secured a spot in the playoffs.