Tennessee Titans (2-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)
Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021 • 1 p.m. EDT/Noon CDT • TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, Fla. • TV: CBS
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans (2-2) travel to face the AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4) this week. Kickoff at TIAA Bank Field (capacity 67,858) is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT/noon CDT on Sunday, Oct. 10. The Titans have won three consecutive games in the series and have won seven of their past eight encounters with the Jaguars, dating back to 2017. They lead the all-time series 32-21, including playoffs (1-0).
TITANS LOOK TO REBOUND FOLLOWING OVERTIME SETBACK
This Sunday marks the Titans’ third road game in a four-week span. Last week they traveled to face the New York Jets and went to overtime before ultimately falling by a final score of 27-24. Prior to the loss they were 4-0 in overtime games since Mike Vrabel became head coach in 2018.
Running back Derrick Henry recorded 33 rushing attempts for 157 yards and a touchdown (one yard) and added 20 receiving yards. In the process, he notched his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game and became the third player in NFL history with at least 150 rushing yards in three consecutive road games, joining Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson. No player to this point has done so in four straight road games.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 30 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown on 49 attempts, which tied for the second-highest number of attempts in his career. His two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cameron Batson in the final minute of the fourth quarter helped push the game to overtime.
THE JAGUARS
The Jaguars are in their first season with new head coach Urban Meyer, who was hired in January. Meyer built a 87-32 record as a college head coach, most recently at Ohio State from 2012 to 2018. He won two national championships during his time at Florida (2006 and 2008) and one national title at Ohio State (2014).
While at Ohio State, Meyer’s coaching staff included Vrabel. He retained Vrabel as the defensive line coach for the Buckeyes from 2012 to 2013 before the future Titans coach headed to the Houston Texans in 2014.
Meyer’s hiring in Jacksonville preceded the arrival of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who the Jaguars chose with the first overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. At Clemson University, Lawrence went 34-2 in three seasons as a starter, including a national championship in 2018. Through the first four weeks of his rookie NFL campaign, Lawrence has completed 81 of 142 passes for 873 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Jaguars will have the advantage of a head start to prepare for their home game with the Titans. They appeared on Thursday Night Football last week at Cincinnati, falling by a final score of 24-21 after the Bengals made a 35-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
• Overall series (regular & postseason): Titans lead 32-21
• Regular season series: Titans lead 31-21
• Postseason series: Titans lead 1-0
• Total points: Titans 1,141, Jaguars 997
• Current streak: Three wins by Titans
• Titans at home vs. Jaguars: 17-9
• Titans on the road vs. Jaguars: 15-12 (including 1-0 in playoffs)
• Longest winning streak by Titans: 5 (twice, last 2001-03)
• Longest losing streak by Titans: 4 (1996-98)
• Titans vs. Jaguars at Nissan Stadium: 17-5
• Last time at Nissan Stadium: Jaguars 30 at TITANS 33 (9-20-20)
• Titans vs. Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field: 15-12
• Last Time at TIAA Bank Field: TITANS 31 at Jaguars 10 (12-13-20)
• First time: OILERS 10 at Jaguars 3 (9-3-95)
• Mike Vrabel’s record vs. Jaguars: 5-1
• Urban Meyer’s record vs. Titans: 0-0
• Mike Vrabel’s record vs. Urban Meyer: 0-0
A TITANS VICTORY WOULD …
• Give the Titans their fifth consecutive division win, dating back to 2020.
• Give the Titans a 13-6 record on the road since the beginning of the 2019 season.
• Improve Mike Vrabel’s career record to 34-23 as a head coach, including playoffs.
• Improve QB Ryan Tannehill’s combined starting record in the regular season and playoffs to 65-58, including a 23-12 record with the Titans.
SERIES HISTORY
The Jaguars are the Titans’ longest-standing division rival. The clubs have met at least twice each year since Jacksonville began play as an expansion franchise in 1995. For the first seven seasons of the rivalry they played in the AFC Central, and since 2002 they have been members of the AFC South.
The teams have met a total of 53 times, with the Titans holding a 32- 21 advantage. For eight consecutive seasons (2009–2016), the Titans and Jaguars split the annual series before Tennessee took both matchups in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, the they exchanged wins once again before the Titans took both games in 2020.
The most recent Titans-Jaguars matchup was Dec. 13, 2020 at TIAA Bank Field. Derrick Henry rushed for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns to power the Titans to a 31-10 victory.
The last trip by the Jaguars to Nissan Stadium was Week 2 of the 2020 season (Sept. 20), when the visitors overcame a 30-17 deficit to tie the score at 30-30 in the fourth quarter. However, Stephen Gostkowski delivered a 49-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining in regulation to lift the Titans to a 33-30 victory.
The Titans and Jaguars have met five times on Thursday Night Football. The last occasion was Sept. 19, 2019. The Jaguars won by a final score of 20-7, taking a 3-2 lead in the Thursday night series. Jaguars then-rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew earned his first career victory as a starter in the contest.
On Thursday night, Dec. 6, 2018, Titans running back Derrick Henry rushed for a then-franchise-record 238 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, lifting the Titans to a 30-9 win over the Jaguars. On one of his scores, Henry matched Tony Dorsett to become only the second running back in NFL history to record a 99-yard rushing attempt.
The stakes of the rivalry were never higher than in 1999, when the Titans and Jaguars met three times, including the AFC Championship Game in Jacksonville. Steve McNair rushed for two touchdowns and Derrick Mason returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown as the Titans earned their first Super Bowl berth with a 33-14 win. Tennessee went on to Super Bowl XXXIV and eventually fell at the hands of the St. Louis Rams, 23-16. The Jaguars played their first game in franchise history against the then-Houston Oilers on Sept. 3, 1995. In Jacksonville, the Oilers won the game by a 10-3 final score.
MOST RECENT MATCHUPS
2019 Week 3 • Sept. 19, 2019 • Titans 7 at JAGUARS 20
The Jaguars score 14 points in the first quarter, including a touchdown on a possession resulting from a muffed Titans punt return … Jaguars rookie Gardner Minshew II tosses two touchdown passes … Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is sacked nine times, with Calais Campbell accounting for three sacks and Josh Allen and Dawuane Smoot accounting for two sacks each … Derrick Henry rushes for the Titans’ lone touchdown in the fourth quarter … Leonard Fournette is held to negative rushing yards before a 69-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
2019 Week 12 • Nov. 24, 2019 • Jaguars 20 at TITANS 42
After leading 7-3 at halftime, the Titans score 28 points in the third quarter to tie a franchise record for third-quarter scoring … Derrick Henry rushes for 159 and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown and then a seven-yard touchdown on the offense’s next play … The Titans offense scores on three consecutive scrimmage plays … Ryan Tannehill passes for two touchdowns and rushes for two touchdowns for the first time in his career … A.J. Brown leads team with 135 receiving yards on four catches, including a 65-yard score.
2020 Week 2 • Sept. 20, 2020 • Jaguars 30 at TITANS 33
Stephen Gostkowski boots a game-winning 49-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, and outside linebacker Harold Landry III seals the win with an interception off Gardner Minshew II on the subsequent Jaguars series … Minshew II is 30-of-45 for 339 with three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Ryan Tannehill is 18-of-24 for 239 yards and four touchdowns (145.7 passer rating) … The Titans build leads of 14-0 and 30-17 before the Jaguars tie the score at 30-30 in the fourth quarter … Tight end Jonnu Smith leads the Titans with 84 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
2020 Week 14 • Dec. 13, 2020 • TITANS 31 at Jaguars 10
The Titans never trail after scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, and they score 24 consecutive points, including 10 points in the final minute of the first half … Derrick Henry rushes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with his yardage total ranking fifth in franchise history for a single game … Ryan Tannehill passes for 212 and two scores, while A.J. Brown catches seven passes for 112 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown … Jaguars starting quarterback Mike Glennon is replaced by Gardner Minshew II in the second half.
