Jaguars report card: Three A's and a B for complete effort in win against Tennessee Titans
Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette grades the Jaguars’ performance in a 34-14 win against the Tennessee Titans based on execution, effort and game circumstances.
Offense: A-minus
The Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence made a concerted effort to get more vertical against a suspect Titans secondary, which translated into some success because of better protection from the offensive line.
The Jaguars picked up a Tennessee blitz that allowed a 34-yard rainbow pass in stride to Calvin Ridley, which set up a field goal for a 13-0 lead before the half.
Titans cornerback Roger McCreary was flagged twice for pass interference, once on an underthrown pass for Zay Jones that could have been a touchdown if Lawrence had thrown it five yards longer down the right sideline.
Ridley had seven catches for 103 yards, his second-best output of the season behind his 122 yards against Buffalo in London. He was a big factor early with three catches for 51 yards, including a 3-yard TD grab, and also ran a reverse for 18 yards and drew one pass interference penalty.
Lawrence (24 of 32, 262 yards, 2 TDs, 119.5 rating) had probably his best game of 2023 because the offensive line gave him the time needed to get the ball downfield.
He was able to get to second or third reads when necessary and also had two nifty touchdown runs, extending the ball both times with different hands to break the plane.
He became the first quarterback in Jaguars history to have two TDs passing and two running in the same game.
The running game had only "meh" production, with Travis Etienne having 14 carries for 52 yards.
Defense: A-minus
It was pretty evident early on that the Titans' shaky offensive line would struggle to establish the run with Derrick Henry (10 carries, 38 yards), who had his worst game against the Jaguars since his 2016 rookie season when he was held to 13 yards on four carries.
Tennessee finished with only 236 total yards, but didn’t get to 100 yards until three minutes remained in the third quarter. Had it not been for a suspect roughing-the-passer penalty on K’Lavon Chaisson on third down that extended a Titans drive, the shutout wouldn’t have been broken on a 43-yard TD pass on the next play from Will Levis to DeAndre Hopkins.
The Jaguars allowed another late score, a 3-yard TD pass to defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, which was set up by a 49-yard bomb to Chris Moore. Despite giving up two touchdowns, Mike Caldwell’s defense shut down the Titans and rarely allowed Levis to get too comfortable.
Tennessee only had the ball for 23:34.
Special teams: B-plus
Ross Matiscik, the long snapper, had the play of the day for Heath Farwell’s unit when he ripped the ball out with his right hand from punt returner Eric Garror before his knee hit the ground, then recovered the ball at the Titans’ 36.
That led to the Jaguars’ fourth touchdown of the day on Lawrence’s second scramble to the end zone.
Placekicker Brandon McManus continued the most accurate season of his 10-year career by hitting field goals of 30 and 25 yards, making him 20 of 22 on the season. His first PAT kick was partially tipped, but still made it through the uprights.
The Titans had several opportunities for kick returns with Tyjae Spears, but he only got beyond the 20-yard line one time on four attempts.
Andrew Wingard had two tackles inside the 20. With Jamal Agnew on injured reserve, Parker Washington took over punt return duties, but didn’t get any return chances.
Logan Cooke had only two punts for a 51-yard average.
Coaching: A
For the third time in his Jaguars career, Doug Pederson made sure his team had a bounce-back game after an embarrassing loss.
The Jaguars put last week’s 34-3 debacle against the San Francisco 49ers well behind them, taking command early on their hated AFC South rivals and were never threatened.
The Jaguars looked buttoned up in all three phases, playing the complementary football that disappeared a week ago.
A dormant vertical passing game got ignited and the defense kept Tennessee on lockdown until after the Jaguars built a 27-point lead.
Ahead of next week’s division showdown game against the Houston Texans, the Jaguars looked ready to seize control of the AFC South and will have an opportunity to extend their lead even further on the road.