The Tennessee Titans started their season off with a bang in Week 1, thumping the Cleveland Browns by a score of 43-13, but they then went out with a whimper in their home opener, falling to the Indianapolis Colts in a two-point defeat.
Now, the Titans will head back on the road to take on the scrambling Jacksonville Jaguars in a Week 3 AFC South showdown.
Well, as much of a “showdown” as it can possibly be. At least it's a divisional matchup, right?
Anyway, here are four reasons the Titans will beat the Jaguars on Thursday night:
4. The Schedule
The Titans currently find themselves at 1-1, tied with the Colts and Houston Texans. But if they don't win this game against the Jags, things will get a bit dicey.
Tennessee will have to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Georgia next week, and in Week 5, the Titans will play host to the upstart Buffalo Bills, who have won their first two games.
So, if Tennessee loses this contest, there is a chance it can be 1-4 when it heads to Denver to battle the Broncos on Oct. 13, so the Titans really need to win this game against an inferior Jacksonville opponent.
They surely know that, and they also don't want to fall to 0-2 within their own division.
3. The Jaguars' Soft Run Defense
I know we are only two games in, but it's becoming more and more apparent that the Jaguars' defense is a far cry from the dominant unit of 2017.
Jacksonville is allowing 119.5 rushing yards per game thus far, and with the Titans being a team that relies heavily on their running game, that is good news for Tennessee.
It should be noted that the Jags weren't great at defending the run last year, either, as they allowed 116.9 rushing yards per game, which ranked 19th in the NFL.
Derrick Henry may end up having a field day.
2. The Jaguars Are in Turmoil
This was supposed to be a turnaround season for the Jaguars, but it hasn't been anything of the sort over the first couple of weeks.
First, Nick Foles went down with a broken clavicle during the first quarter of the season opener, which was a 40-26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Then, this past Sunday, Jalen Ramsey got into an intense shouting match with head coach Doug Marrone in a one-point loss to the Texans.
Ramsey then demanded a trade.
So, yeah; things aren't exactly rosy in Jacksonville right now, and generally, that affects a team's play on the field.
Perhaps the Jaguars will use their circumstances as a rallying cry, but it seems more likely that they will just come out and lay an egg this week.
1. The Titans' Defense
The Titans have a tough, physical defense, and against a Jags offense that lacks any sort of elite talent, that is a recipe for success.
Houston held Jacksonville to just 12 points this past week, so I see no reason why Tennessee should not be equally successful.
The Titans ranked eighth in the league in defense last year, and through two games in 2019, they have allowed just 32 points, and it's not like they have been playing bottom-dwelling offenses.
Tennessee should be able to win this game solely on the strength of its smashmouth defense against a poor offense.
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