Titans 28, Jaguars 20: Game Balls
On Jan. 7, 2023, the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans to clinch the AFC South for the first time since 2017. The Jaguars scored 20 points, while the Joshua Dobbs-led Titans could only muster 16.
Fast forward exactly one year and the circumstances are eerily similar; on Jan. 7 the Jaguars scored 20 points against the Titans with the AFC South on the line. This time, 20 points wasn’t enough as Derrick Henry willed Tennessee to a 28-20 victory in what could be his final game for the franchise.
Despite finishing with a 9-8 record – and securing back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005 – Jacksonville fell one game short of both the division crown and the postseason. It is a disastrous result for a Jaguars team that once found themselves in a three-way tie for second in the AFC, made all the more nauseating by Henry’s vintage performance.
Henry is both a frustrating and familiar foe for the Jaguars, and on Sunday he turned back the clock with 153 yards and a score against Jacksonville’s ninth-ranked rushing defense. His longest rush of the day, a 69-yard gain to open the third quarter, gained almost as many rushing yards as the Jaguars did all day.
In their final game of the season Jacksonville gained just 82 yards on the ground, marking the seventh time the team has failed to eclipse 100 rushing yards since the bye week. With a struggling ground game, the Titans were able to blanket the field and prevent Lawrence and his receivers from getting into rhythm; as has been the case time and time again down the stretch.
As a unit the offense gained 362 yards, but Lawrence’s two second-quarter interceptions allowed Tennessee to build a two-score lead they never relinquished. Defensively, the Jaguars held the Titans to less than 200 yards passing but allowed their ground game to average nearly seven yards per carry.
Kicker Brandon McManus epitomized Sunday’s special team’s performance, concluding the 2023 campaign perfect on his four kicks. Punter Logan Cooke had a quiet game, but returners Parker Washington and Tank Bigsby helped round out what was yet another strong day for the game’s least-appreciated phase.
Though Sunday’s result wasn’t the one both the Jaguars and Duval faithful hoped for, it was another game rich with individual success. As was the case all season, Jaguar after Jaguar stepped up and made big plays when they needed too most.
For one final time, let’s take a look at some of Sunday’s top performers from each of the game’s three phases.
Offense: WR Calvin Ridley
If anybody needed a strong game ahead of a potentially dramatic offseason, it was Ridley. Heading into Week 18, wide receiver Calvin Ridley was 90 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season.
With 6 catches for 106 yards and a score Ridley has secured the second 1,000-yard season of his five-year professional career, and his first as a Jaguar.
2023 was a tumultuous year for the former Atlanta Falcon; following an eight-catch, 101-yard game in Week 1, Ridley had just seven catches for 110 yards in his next three. After his second 100-yard performance of the season against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 it was more of the same for the former Alabama product.
Ridley’s efficiency took a major hit following a year-long suspension, yet his production remains elite when the opportunity allows it. In games where Ridley caught six or more passes the fifth-year veteran averaged 101 yards and scored six touchdowns.
In all other games, Ridley averaged a little more than 37 yards per game.
Sunday was another one of those volume-driven games for Ridley, though his performance will largely be remembered for a 42-yard deep ball dropped on the game’s penultimate drive. Despite that season-defining miss, Ridley enjoyed one of his finest games of the season and more than earned this week’s offensive Game Ball.
Defense: EDGE Travon Walker
Last week, pass rusher Josh Allen earned a Game Ball for smashing a Jaguars franchise record and reaching 16.5 sacks on the season. On Sunday he reached 17.5, but another Jaguar reached a more significant milestone.
On Sunday, edge rusher Travon Walker sacked Tannehill to turn away the Titans as the second quarter drew to a close. For the first time in his professional career the former number one overall pick has reached double-digit sacks in a single season.
Since the bye week Walker has been on an absolute tear, notching at least half a sack in seven of the nine games since the start of November. Prior to his recent hot streak, the former Georgia Bulldog had been held without a sack in 15 of his 23 career regular season games.
Walker has established himself as a building block opposite Allen, and his production over the past two months has been crucial to the team maintaining control of their own destiny. Should his recent play be any indication, Walker could help the Jaguars remain highly competitive for a long time.
As far as pass rush duos go, Jacksonville boasts one of the league’s very best. Walker’s improved play has been one of the largest reasons why.
Special Teams: K Brandon McManus
It seems like it was only yesterday when every week’s edition of Game Balls featured a page-long homage to McManus’ weekly exploits. Up until a three-game stretch that saw the former Bronco fail to make a field goal, he was on pace for one of the most prolific kicking seasons in league history.
Though he fell short of history, McManus wrapped up a career year with a perfect game against the Titans. He drilled both of his extra point attempts and nailed two field goals from 44 and 30 yards out for good measure.
McManus reached two milestones on Sunday, scoring 30 field goals and hitting 100% of his extra-point tries for the second and third times respectively. In his first year donning the teal and black, the ninth-year-veteran scored a team-leading 125 points.
This week’s Game Ball, especially for the special teams unit, is more about the season as a whole. When considering which Jaguars had the best seasons at their respective positions, obvious names like Josh Allen, Foyesade Oluokun and Evan Engram come to mind.
Brandon McManus, old as he is, shouldn’t be discounted. For what it’s worth, Jacksonville is extremely lucky to have enjoyed his services in what will likely be a forgotten season.
