Jaguars Titans Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Tennessee Titans will host the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 16 of NFL action. The Titans aren’t completely out of the playoff picture, but their 13-27 loss at Indianapolis definitely has me thinking this team won’t be playing past week 17. Tennessee is currently a game back of both the Jets and Bengals for the final playoff spot. The Jaguars will look to rebound from an embarrassing 14-41 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. The win game just one week after Jacksonville beat Tampa Bay 41-14 at home. The Jaguars actually beat the Titans 16-14 in the season opener, but injuries have both teams feeling a lot different than they did back in September.

Taking a look at the week 15 NFL lines, oddsmakers currently have the Titans favored by 7.5-points over the Jaguars with the total set at 40 points.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

It’s looking like the Jaguars blowout win over the Buccaneers was more of a fluke than this team turning things around. Jacksonville didn’t even stand a chance against the Falcons last week. It was their fourth loss in their last five games. and their sixth road loss in seven tries this season.

The Jaguars got a solid game out of Maurice Jones-Drew, who carried the rock 17 times for 112 yards, but overall the offense struggled to get anything going. Blaine Gabbert had another below-average day throwing the ball. He completed 12 of 22 attempts for just 141 yards. He threw an interceptions and was sacked five times.

Jones-Drew suffered an ankle injury in the loss last week, but is expected to play against the Titans. His injury is definitely something to keep an eye on. Jones’Drew is the entire offense fo the Jacksonville at this point.

It will be interesting to see how the Titans respond to that embarrassing effort they put out on defense last week. Tennessee allowed the Colts of all teams to rush for 205 yards. If they let Jones-Drew and the Jaguars put up a similar number, this game is going to be a lot closer than people think.

Tennessee Titans:

I wasn’t a big believer of the Titans coming into their game against the Colts, and now it’s pretty safe to say that this team isn’t as good as their record might indicates. While they still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, I give them little to no chance of making it. If this team can’t show up against a team that hasn’t won a game all season, they don’t deserve to play past week 17.

Matt Hasselbeck was able to make the start after being forced out of the previous game against the Saints. However, he was pulled in favor of rookie Jake Locker after throwing for just 223 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Locker came in and completed 11 of 16 for 108 yards and a touchdown, and you have to wonder if he isn’t the best option going forward.

It didn’t help matters that running back Chris Johnson had just 55 yards on 15 attempts. Johnson has had a couple of solid games, but is no longer a top back in the league. The guy simply can’t be counted on to perform at a high level on a consistent basis.

Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Titans should be able to put up some big passing numbers in this game. The Jaguars secondary has went from one of the best in the league to one of the worst. Their defense has been decimated by injuries. Last week Matt Ryan completed 19 of 26 attempts for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

Betting Trends:

Jacksonville is 3-2 against the spread versus the Titans over the last 3 seasons

Tennessee is 12-29 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points since 1992.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win this week in the NFL.

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