The Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars have only combined for five wins this year, but neither team is anywhere near out of the discussion in the putrid AFC South. It isn't often that a game between a 3-6 team and a 2-7 team is all that important, but this is definitely the exception to the rule.
If nothing else though, the duel between the two young gun quarterbacks, Marcus Mariota and Blake Bortles makes Thursday Night Football worth watching.
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Bortles has put together a few good games all of a sudden for the Jags. Jacksonville won its first game on the road in almost two calendar years last week in Baltimore, and it was largely thanks to the fact that Bortles hung in there.
You might not realize this, but the second-year man from Central Florida has thrown at least two touchdown passes in five straight games. Sure, he's thrown 11 picks, and he's awfully lucky to not have 15 or more based upon where some of these passes have gone, but he's doing the job for fantasy players due to all of the touchdown passes.
In spite of the fact that Bortles had a dud of a first game against the Panthers (who has had a good game against Carolina's defense this year?), he has averaged 22.9 fantasy points per game.
That said, the Titans have had a defense which has really harassed quarterbacks of late. Cam Newton was sacked five times last week, and that marked the fourth straight game in which the Tennessee defense has picked up at least three sacks. The Jacksonville offensive line has had four games this year with at least five sacks allowed, some of which is on the line, and some of which is on Bortles holding the ball too long and taking too long to make reads.
What Bortles does have on his side though, is two excellent wide receivers. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns both have seven touchdown catches this season, and these two men both have a history of getting into open space and making things happen when they get the ball in their hands. The Titans can be burned deep thanks to their aggression, and it'll be tough to see a circumstance in which Bortles doesn't have at least one touchdown to one of these guys.
Mariota has either been really hot or really not thus far in his young career, but that's to be expected out of a young quarterback. Last week against Carolina, the rookie threw for just 185 yards and didn't have a touchdown pass in a 27-10 loss. Then again, this is a man who also had four touchdowns against both Tampa Bay and New Orleans.
The Jaguars don't have a great pass rush, and they've only forced 11 turnovers all season, four of which came last week. That could give Mariota a few opportunities.
Mariota hasn't done nearly as much with his legs as we suspected he would at the start of his career. He doesn't have a rushing touchdown yet, and he only has 101 yards on 16 rushes.
In the end, this short week could end up being a nightmare for the Titans. They're going to have to travel back from Charlotte and over to Jacksonville for a game which is going to be played on just three days of rest. Mariota took a pretty big beating against Carolina last week, and he might not have his best receiver in Kendall Wright in the lineup. All signs are pointing to Bortles knocking off Mariota in this fantasy football showdown.
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