Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans: Complete Week 6 Preview for Tennessee
In Week 6, two of the worst teams in the NFL will face off. Neither the Tennessee Titans nor their fans expected the team to be in this position after its dominant showing against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, but it's been all downhill for Tennessee since then.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Titans have split their wins every year for the last five years, and since neither looks to be particularly impressive this year, there's no reason to think that cycle won't repeat itself in 2014.
The Jaguars are a mess and have yet to claim a win, but the Titans are coming off one of the worst meltdowns in league history. Even the 0-5 Jaguars aren't a guaranteed win.
He's a preview of the matchup between the two AFC South squads.
Week 5 Recap
1 of 5
What is there to say about the Cleveland Browns game?
The Titans blew the biggest regular-season lead in franchise history. But that's not all. For the Browns, it was the biggest come-from-behind win by a road team ever and the third biggest regular-season come-from-behind win in NFL history.
To add injury to insult, the Titans lost Jake Locker for the game, Michael Roos and Bernard Pollard for the season and Coty Sensabaugh for the last quarter. Incidentally, Sensabaugh was filling in for the injured Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
Despite leading 28-3 in the second quarter, the Titans ended up losing 29-28 and cemented their status as one of the worst teams in the league.
News and Notes
2 of 5
With Locker injured again, and Charlie Whitehurst not looking like he's capable of leading the Titans to a lot of wins, the talk of putting in rookie Zach Mettenberger is inevitable.
ESPN's Paul Kuharsky recently wrote an opinion piece about the subject, opining that the Titans are unlikely to put Mettenberger in any time soon. I think he's right.
Mettenberger showed promise in the preseason, but the preseason is rarely a good indicator of anything. If the season continues to go south for the Titans, they'll certainly play Mettenberger. But it's important to remember that he is a rookie quarterback.
After he has a little more time to get used to head coach Ken Whisenhunt's system and get used to the NFL in general, I think he might be able to show just what he's worth. But rushing him in right now almost certainly won't help matters for the Titans, and throwing him into the fire before he's ready probably won't help Mettenberger down the road either.
Injury Report
3 of 5
| Player | Position | Status |
| Shonn Greene | RB | Questionable |
| Jake Locker | QB | Questionable |
| Bernard Pollard | DB | Out |
| Michael Roos | OL | Out |
The Browns game was devastating for the Titans as far as injuries go. In-game injuries included Bernard Pollard, who will miss the rest of the season, Coty Sensabaugh and Jake Locker.
Locker didn't participate in practice on Thursday, so it seems unlikely that he's going to play.
Since the game, Shonn Greene has been added to the injury list, and now Michael Roos, the team's longtime Pro Bowl left tackle, will need season-ending surgery.
If Locker and Greene aren't ready to go by Sunday, the Titans will be playing with a very depleted depth chart against the Jaguars. And that's not even taking into consideration the players that are banged up but expected to play.
All injury information taken from ESPN's injury page for the Titans.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
4 of 5
Jason McCourty and Coty Sensabaugh vs. Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson
The Allens have been the most productive receivers on the Jaguars so far this season. Jason McCourty has not looked the same since his injury against the Dallas Cowboys, and he had a pretty bad game against Cleveland, despite his interception that was called back.
I assume he has lingering issues with his groin injury, and now Coty Sensabaugh may be in the same boat. Sensabaugh played well against Cleveland, but he left the game early with an injury.
He isn't listed in the injury report, but all that means is that he'll be able to play. If both of the Titans' best corners aren't up to par and get beaten by the Jaguars' receivers, Blake Bortles could torch the Titans.
X-Factor: Charlie Whitehurst
Whitehurst began his time in the Browns game on a high note, throwing touchdowns on two of his first three passes, including a big throw to Justin Hunter that became a 75-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. Whitehurst was completely ineffective, and the Titans' offense was unable to put any points on the board in the game's second half. If Whitehurst plays like that against the Jaguars, then the Titans will lose.
Prediction
5 of 5
The Titans started strong against the Browns, but after Locker left the game, things fell apart. To make matters worse, the Titans ended up losing a couple of key players in Michael Roos and Bernard Pollard, not to mention the injuries to Shonn Greene and Coty Sensabaugh.
The Titans were already not looking great, and now they're even more banged up than they were before. I'm not feeling great about their chances, even against the lowly Jaguars.
If Locker doesn't play, and I don't expect him to, I'd be willing to bet that Blake Bortles will lead the Jaguars to their first win of the season. Bortles has looked solid so far. And with the Titans unable to stop the run, the team will demand less of Bortles.
If Locker plays and isn't still having problems with his thumb, then I'd change my pick to the Titans.
Prediction: Jaguars 24, Titans 17
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
