Sunday, December 13, 2020, TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida, 1 p.m. ET
Titans at Jaguars Betting Preview: Titans (-7.5/-112), Jaguars (+7.5/-108)
Tennessee Titans
Last week represented a big red flag to some who were touting Tennessee (8-4) as a darkhorse in the loaded AFC. After impressive road wins the prior two weeks over Baltimore and Indianapolis, it came home and laid a mutant egg against Cleveland.
The 41-35 final score was frankly flattering to the Titans. They trailed 38-7 at the half, giving up scores on all six first-half possessions against a middle-of-the-pack offense. It was a big step backwards for a defense that has been a fairly consistent source of frustration for their fans.
Tennessee’s approach this week needs to be re-establishing who it is. Get running back Derrick Henry (NFL-leading 1,317 yards) going early in the game, jump on an early lead to keep Jacksonville from gaining confidence and avoid the kind of silly mistakes that plagued it last week.
Jacksonville Jaguars
It’s hard to believe that just three years ago, Jacksonville won the AFC South and reached the AFC championship game, where it was 15 minutes from toppling New England before a bitter come-from-ahead loss.
Since then, the Jaguars (1-11) have resumed their decade-long role as NFL laughingstock. The general manager has already been cashiered with the team in an 11-game losing streak and the coaching staff — including head coach Doug Marrone –– is probably four games away from needing to update their resumes on LinkedIn.
But they haven’t stopped playing hard. They have eaten a number of tough losses during this skid, the last two coming by five points. And they have unearthed a future star off the free agent pile in running back James Robinson, who needs just 32 yards on Sunday to reach 1,000 as a rookie.
Titans at Jaguars Betting Pick for Week 14
The pressure’s on Tennessee to take care of business this week after a stinky performance against Cleveland. They’re facing a division rival with nothing to lose but a 12th straight game, the kind of team you don’t always want to see in the middle of December.
Jacksonville isn’t going to leave anything in the playbook if it has a chance to win, and near-misses against Green Bay, Cleveland and Minnesota show it’s still trying. But the Titans’ offense probably has a bit more firepower and that makes the difference.
Titans at Jaguars Betting Pick:
Titans 34, Jaguars 30
Titans at Jaguars Best Bet for Week 14
In theory, Tennessee should be ready to go from the jump after getting off to such a lousy start against Cleveland. Given that it has one of the best offenses in the NFL and Jacksonville has one of the worst defenses, don’t be afraid to be bold. Go ahead and hammer the over that the Titans will score more than 10.5 points in the first quarter and thank us later when you step to the pay window.
Titans at Jaguars Best Bet: Titans OVER 10.5 total points in the first quarter (-223)
