Can you call a matchup between teams with a combined five wins crucial? In the woeful AFC South, where no team has a winning record, every game is critical and the Jags might be the hottest team in the division with two wins in their past three games. A victory over the Titans puts the Jags at the top of the standings, but there is no margin for error. A Tennessee win elevates the Titans into a tie with the Jags.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jacksonville Jaguars -3
Tennessee Titans +3
Over/Under 44
ODDS ANALYSIS
This game is a toss-up with the home team laying the standard field goal. But keep in mind the visitors had a huge advantage in the NFL last week going 9-3 SU and 8-4 ATS. These teams have split the past 10 games with the under cashing in eight of the last 11. Both teams have leaky defenses, but they also have questionable offenses as well, giving the under some value.
KEY INJURIES
Justin Hunter – Tennessee’s receiver was carted off the field with an apparent right ankle injury late in Sunday’s game and is doubtful to play on Thursday. Rico Richardson and Dorial Green-Beckham will likely get increased snaps.
Bidi Wreh-Wilson – Left early in the second half Sunday with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. The Titans cornerback started in place of Perrish Cox, who was inactive with an injury.
Sen’Derrick Marks – Left Sunday’s game with an elbow injury and didn’t return. The Jags starting defensive tackle is questionable to play on Thursday. Tyson Alualu and Abry Jones will get more reps on the interior line if Marks misses some action.
KEY MISMATCH
Jacksonville receivers Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson have combined for 15 touchdowns, the most by any pair of teammates in the league. This has created matchup problems for most of their opponents this season. That trend continued Sunday against the Ravens beleaguered secondary despite constant attention. Hurns caught five passes for 62 yards with a touchdown, becoming the first player with a touchdown catch in seven straight games since 2012. Robinson had five catches for 51 yards with a touchdown. The duo, along with Marquise Lee, gives the Jaguars a formidable group of pass-catchers moving forward. When quarterback Blake Bortles has time, he’s able to find receivers downfield and isn’t afraid to throw the football into tight windows with his arm strength and the ability of his receivers to make plays. He didn’t have his best game Sunday, but he showed he can be a leader and has the ability to pull through when the team needs him most. Tennessee’s starting cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Jason McCourty were inactive Sunday and backup Wreh-Wilson injured his hamstring, leaving the Titans desperately thin going into a short week.
KEY STAT
18.8 – Tennessee’s points per game average. The Titans rank 27th in the NFL in scoring but their better offensive games came against lower ranked defensive teams. The Jags are 30th in points per game allowed at 28.3.
BETTING ANGLE
Jacksonville’s improbable win Sunday in Baltimore was the kind of game the Jaguars have gotten accustomed to losing over past several years. Turnovers, penalties and mistakes were all factors, but this time it wasn’t the Jags committing them. It was the Baltimore Ravens giving the Jags a chance and this time they came through, snapping a 13-game road losing streak and improving to 3-6. With two wins in three games the Jags are the hottest team in the AFC South, which isn’t saying much since no team has a winning record. But Jacksonville is right back in the thick of the division race, trailing the Colts by one win. And Indy is without quarterback Andrew Luck, who’s sidelined for several weeks with a lacerated kidney. The division is wide open and the Jags are ready to waltz through the opening, but there is little margin for error with the Titans just a game back of the Jags and two behind the front-running Colts. While the football may not be all that great, there is plenty of excitement within the division and head-to-head matchups are that much more significant.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Jags got the monkey off their back, winning on the road for the first time in nearly two years. And it was the kind of NFL game this team has lost in the past. They gained just 258 yards of offense and Bortles was sacked three times and threw a pick. Yet the Ravens gifted Jacksonville an opportunity with a penalty and an untimed down and the Jags capitalized. A game they really had no right winning and they did. More impressively, it came one week after the Jags should’ve beaten the Jets, but turnovers and mistakes cost them a chance in that one. The Jags showed plenty of spirit and fight on the road and pulled one out when they didn’t play their best. This could be an indication that the team is coming together under Gus Bradley. Jacksonville has plenty of weapons on offense, but the D stood tall against Baltimore, forcing four turnovers and holding the Ravens to 89 yards rushing. Back home the Jags continue on the high of their first road win in 14 tries and make things interesting the AFC South.
Jacksonville 26, Tennessee 24
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