Titans 20, Jaguars 0: Jaguars Shutout For First Time Since 2009 In Mistake-Filled Bout
If there was any set of plays that summed up the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense and 2021 season, it would be the final two plays on the second-half's opening drive.
Thanks to a series of first-down conversions, including a chunk gain to Marvin Jones on the left boundary, the Jaguars had a chance to make noise and finally find some confidence and points in Nashville.
That was until the last two plays of the drive.
On the first of these two plays, the Jaguars did almost everything right. They executed a perfect double-reverse between James Robinson and Laquon Treadwell to pitch the ball back to Lawrence. Lawrence then stood firm and made an accurate deep throw to James O'Shaughnessy downfield.
But just as O'Shaughnessy brought in the deep reception that would have perfectly set the Jaguars up in the red-zone, Titans' safety Kevin Byard flew across the field to knock the ball out. Just like that, the offense's first explosive and well-executed shot play of the game up and went in a puff of smoke.
A play later, things went from bad to worse. Lawrence found wide receiver Laviska Shenault open in the middle of the field and led him with an accurate pass, the ball bounced off the second-year receiver's hands and landed in the hands of Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans, ending what had once looked like a promising drive.
Glimpses of competence only to be overshadowed by boneheaded and self-inflicted mistakes. That is the 2021 Jaguars, and that is what took place in Week 14's 20-0 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the first time the Jaguars have been shutout since October 2009. The Jaguars' losing streak in Nashville also extended to eight years as Trevor Lawrence turned the ball over four times and the Jaguars failed to put up a fight.
The Titans started the game out with dominant showings on both sides of the ball. The Titans took the first drive of the game 74 yards in just 10 plays, leading to a five-yard touchdown run from D'Onta Foreman that capped off a show of brute strength and precision from the Titans' offense, though they were aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard.
Things didn't improve for the Jaguars when they got the ball, either. The Jaguars suffered a nine-yard loss on a sack by Denico Autry on their first offensive snap of the game and ended their first drive with half as many negative plays (two sacks, one tackle for loss) as plays ran.
Jacksonville was able to avoid going down by double-digits after just two drives after they luckily benefitted from a missed 47-yard field goal by Randy Bullock, but things got no better for the offense. The Jaguars had just 33 yards of offense before a 31-yard pass to Jones on the final play of the first half, compared to 163 yards from a Titans offense that marched down the field for two scoring drives on their first three drives.
The Jaguars made some individual plays on defense, such as a sack by Damien Wilson and strong plays in space from Shaquill Griffin, but Ryan Tannehill completed 11 of his first 14 passes as the Titans rushed for over 4.0 yards per carry, resulting in long and drawn out drives that continued to demoralize a Jaguars team that already entered the week with plenty of noise surrounding them.
The Titans went three-and-out following Lawrence's interception, which was Lawrence's second interception over the last month. By the time the Jaguars got the ball back, though, they were able to turn a Shenault first-down into an eventual punt following throw aways on second- and third-down. And then, the nightmare really began.
Three of the Jaguars' last five series would go on to end in interceptions, with Lawrence throwing picks to Jayon Brown, Buster Skrine, and Kristian Fulton, ending with a career-high for interceptions. The Jaguars' entire offense sputtered during the second half, leading to Lawrence pressing and making simply too many poor throws and decisions down the stretch.
Lawrence rarely looked like he had ample time in the pocket to read the defense and make plays down the field, with the Jaguars' offensive line struggling from the start of the game to the end. The Jaguars' line allowed pressure throughout the day and was frequently dinged for penalties as the Jaguars racked up nine penalties for 79 yards.
The Jaguars' run game was also an afterthought, with the Jaguars rushing just eight time for eight yards. This included six carries for four yards from James Robinson, who also didn't record a catch.
Lawrence finished the game 24-of-40 for 221 yards and with four interceptions. The Jaguars were outgained 263-192, with the Titans putting their offense on sleep mode for most of the final two quarters as Lawrence continued to turn the ball over.
The 2-11 Jaguars will next host the Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field.
