Jacksonville @ Tennessee preview
Nissan Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2024 ) Jacksonville 20, Tennessee 28
Trevor Lawrence's season probably is over.
But the Jacksonville Jaguars' campaign will continue for another five weeks before it concludes, starting with Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Lawrence was knocked out of last week's 23-20 loss to Houston in the second quarter when he sustained a concussion on a hit by Azeez Al-Shaair that resulted in the Texans' linebacker being suspended for three games by the NFL. Lawrence was placed on injured reserve late Wednesday afternoon, meaning he has to miss the team's next four games.
Because Jacksonville is 2-10 and out of playoff contention, it's likely that even if Lawrence were deemed ready to play in Week 18, he would be held out. The fourth-year pro also has an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder that probably will require surgery.
Lawrence has completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdowns this season, with seven interceptions.
"You know, we gotta be smart too for his long-term health as well," third-year Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. "You don't like to see it with your quarterback, the amount of injuries. He definitely wants to be out there with his teammates."
While Lawrence heals from his sixth injury since the start of the 2023 season, Mac Jones will take over under center. The former New England Patriots starter completed 20 of 32 passes last week for 235 yards with two touchdowns in one of his better performances this season.
But it wasn't enough to snap the Jaguars' losing streak, one that both sides of the ball have contributed to equally. Jacksonville, which has lost five straight games, resides 25th in scoring (19.0), is tied for 29th in scoring defense (28.3), and ranks 28th in total offense (297.7 yards) and 31st in takeaways (eight).
While the Jaguars play the foreseeable future with Jones at the top of the quarterback depth chart, Tennessee (3-9) will try for a turnaround from last week's 42-19 loss at Washington.
The Titans trailed 28-0 before the second quarter was five minutes old, a major step backward for a team coming off a 32-27 upset win the previous week at AFC South-leading Houston.
Titans veteran defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons called the team out for its performance.
"We don't know how to have success," he said. "It felt like we were hungover, hungover from success. ... that's top to bottom, not just the players. It starts with everybody in this building, from top to bottom."
The Titans' defense, which has played better than the team's record suggests, was strafed for 463 total yards in maybe its worst game of the season.
Tennessee guard Logan Bruss sustained a season-ending torn ACL on Thursday. Titans cornerback Roger McCreary (shoulder), linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. (hamstring), defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat (shoulder), linebackers James Williams (knee) and Jerome Baker (neck), offensive tackle Leroy Watson IV (back) and defensive back Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (hip) are questionable for Sunday.
One bright spot for Tennessee lately has been quarterback Will Levis. Since returning four weeks ago from a shoulder injury, he's thrown for seven touchdowns and just two interceptions while playing to a passer rating of 101.4. And he's made more of the big throws downfield that were his calling card as a rookie last year.
Jacksonville cornerback Tyson Campbell (thigh), punter Logan Cooke (left knee), long snapper Ross Matiscik (hamstring) and linebacker Yasir Abdullah (hamstring) are questionable.
--Field Level Media