Jaguars-Titans: 5 Observations on Upset Victory

The Jacksonville Jaguars have ended their seemingly never-ending losing streak.

The Jaguars walked into Nashville and fought and scrapped for four quarters before picking up a 10-6 win over the Tennessee Titans that few saw coming. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win.

So, what do we make of the Jaguars performance and what it all means moving forward? We break it down below.

This win means very little beyond changing draft position

Simply put, Sunday's win means very little in the long-term. The Jaguars aren't going to make any decisions or change any stances based on a 10-6 victory over one of the worst teams in football. All of the problems that persisted before Sunday are still prevelant, and there is no doubt this is known by Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke and Shad Khan.

The only thing that Sunday's win did change was the Jaguars draft position. The Jaguars went from having the inside track to pick No, 1 to currently holding the No. 5 pick. The top-five can change plenty between now and April, but Sunday's win did shift the odds of landing the top pick.

Jaguars have a core nucleus to build around

If Sunday made one thing clear, it is that the Jaguars have a young core they can build around. Anyone coming into the Jaguars organization moving forward should understand the Jaguars need a reboot, not a rebuild. It is not a barren roster like it was in 2021 when the rebuild truly started, and Sunday proved that.

From Brian Thomas Jr. to Travon Walker to Josh Hines-Allen to Tyson Campbell to Jarrian Jones to Tank Bigsby, the Jaguars have several impressive pieces on the roster who are ready to win now. There are improvements that have to be made, of course, but the Jaguars have plenty of talent on their roster.

The Jaguars still don't have to worry about Will Levis

The Jaguars saw three quarterbacks get drafted to the AFC South in 2023, but the reviews on the class have certainly been mixed so far. The Houston Texans obviously have their franchise quarterback in CJ Stroud. Anthony Richardson has been so-so, but has enough upside to worry opposing teams on any given week.

But it is clear that the worst quarterback of the three is Titans quarterback Will Levis, who offers little in way of consistency. Levis airmailed pass after pass in the red-zone on Sunday and his lack of accuracy and stability directly led to the Jaguars win. If the Titans are foolish enough to keep Levis in the starting role next year, the Jaguars will be better off for it.

Travis Etienne has a strange day

The Jaguars clearly entered Sunday's game thinking that the best way to establish the run was via running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby got 18 carries compared to Travis Etienne getting just four, the biggest discrepancy to happen between the two this year while both have been healthy. Even when it was clear the Bigsby runs weren't working in the first half, the Jaguars stuck by him.

Etienne did have a good game as a receiver, catching four passes for 50 yards and helping the Jaguars out of several situations. But for the first time since both him and Bigsby have been healthy, Etienne felt like an afterthought ont he offense.

Ryan Nielsen's defense finally has the day that people expected

There were plenty of high expectations around defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen when he joined the franchise this offseason. Unfortunately for all parties involved, those expectations were missed in a big way over the first 13 weeks of the season, with the Jaguars ranking near the bottom of the league in most defensive metrics.

The unit finally put together a complete game on Sunday, backed by two different red-zone stands that saw the Jaguars force incompletions on fourth-down. The Titans found some success on the ground at times, but the Jaguars made important plays to get off the field when it mattered. It all finally came together for Nielsen's unit.

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