Jaguars vs. Titans: What's the Game Plan for Tennessee?

Realistically speaking, the last chance for the Tennessee Titans to avoid going 2-14 for the second straight season comes this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It can be argued that the Titans did everything they could possibly do to lose to the Jaguars in the first meeting just two weeks ago. The game plan from Tennessee was to run the ball and win time of possession, and they were successful at doing that. That simple strategy gave them the chance to win if not for some critical fourth quarter mistakes.

This is a quick turnaround for both teams to play each other again and an opportunity for Tennessee to play with the desire for revenge. The Titans won basically every major statistical category in the first game against Jacksonville, except for the final score. If they eliminated the fundamental mistakes, they should be in line for a win, and ending their 11-game losing streak at home. 

Offensive Game Plan

The Titans should somewhat copy the blueprint from the first meeting by giving the Jaguars a steady dose of Antonio Andrews and David Cobb. With the season likely lost with just five games remaining, the Titans have to start seeing what they have in their young duo at running back.

When the Titans run the ball well, it opens things up for Marcus Mariota. He's proven to be lethal when the offense is showing some balance. With the running game being non-existent in recent weeks, Mariota has had a rough time finding open receivers. 

Loyalty has to be shown to the run game. It can't be abandoned midway through the second quarter and let the game become one-dimensional. The Titans don't have the athletes on the outside to become strictly a passing team. 

Andrews averaged more than five yards per carry against Jacksonville, and he also caught two passes. A similar amount of volume needs to come his way, with Cobb also seeing close to 10 carries. 

The Titans defense should be able to keep this score close enough for the Titans to stick with their run game and create play-action opportunities for Mariota. 

When the Titans do pass, they need to find every way possible to find their tight ends. Everyone knows the type of season that Delanie Walker is having, but it doesn't have to stop with him. One of the few positions that the Tennessee roster has depth at is at tight end.

Under the new leadership of interim head coach Mike Mularkey, the Tennessee offense has regularly turned to multiple tight ends during critical moments of the game, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.

This has been a smart strategy employed by Mularkey, even if it's only led to one win in three games. Despite the 1-2 record under Mularkey, the team has been competitive in all three. The offense has to keep embracing its strengths, and tight end is one of the few. 

Anthony Fasano is the secondary option at tight end, and he needs to keep getting targets from Mariota. He's usually pretty reliable, and is one of the few veterans for Mariota to depend on, along with Walker and Kendall Wright. 

Fasano is currently listed as probable on the injury report, according to Kuharsky:

"

#Titans injuries: McCluster, Martin out. Morgan, Huff questionable. Fasano, Hill, Woods probable.

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) December 4, 2015"

The one wide receiver that's due to get heavily involved is Wright. Getting him on intermediate routes to allow him to get yards after the catch is where he's most effective. 

Defensive Game Plan

You cannot put the first loss to the Jaguars on the shoulders of the Tennessee defense. Special teams allowed the Jaguars a short field to score the go-ahead touchdown. It came at a time when the defense had only allowed nine points to Jacksonville. 

The Titans were successful on defense in the first meeting because they kept T.J. Yeldon mainly in check while also putting a ton of pressure on Blake Bortles.

Bortles still had an impressive game, but it could have been much worse if not for the amount of pressure he faced from the linebacker position.

There has been some improvement shown in stopping the run in recent games. Some credit should be owed to the secondary for providing support in containing the opposing run game, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.

The Jaguars will once again look to win this game primarily through the air. Their running game isn't reliable, even though Yeldon is no scrub by any means. Yeldon may, however, have to play a bigger role with Allen Hurns being ruled out with a concussion, per Jags beat writer Ryan O'Halloran:

"

#Jaguars rule out Hurns, Skuta and Gerhart for Sunday.

— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) December 4, 2015"

Hurns wasn't even the receiver that burned the Titans for 100-plus yards in the earlier meeting. That player was Allen Robinson, and this is who the Titans will have to contain to keep the Jaguars from putting up 20-plus points.

Another big day from the Titans linebackers will be needed. They need to once again get constant pressure on Bortles and force him into mistakes. Bortles has proven to be prone to turnovers in his young career. 

Finally, the Titans have to hold serve with Jacksonville's awful red-zone percentage that ranks 30th in the NFL. Great defenses sometimes bend but avoid breaking. Holding the Jaguars to field goals, rather than touchdowns, will go a long way into getting a win. 

Prediction

The special teams gaffs will not be an issue this week. They will avoid giving up another long punt return to set up an easy score. They'll make the Jaguars work much harder for late touchdowns this time around, and the Tennessee defense will finally be rewarded for its effort in the form of a win.

The Tennessee offense will also see some mild improvement thanks to a running game that should put up one of its best performances of the season. 

Both Andrews and Cobb should end up seeing close to 25 touches combined and help control the time of possession. 

There won't be much asked of Mariota this week, other than to avoid costly turnovers that have plagued him a few times in his rookie campaign. A well-managed game is what Mariota will chip in with, which will be enough to help his team put together a solid day's work for the offense. 

The Titans may not have the necessary talent to compete for the playoffs just yet, but they're talented enough to make the required adjustments to finally win one of these close games. They're getting a Jacksonville team that's coming off of a demoralizing loss of its own at the hands of a bad San Diego Chargers team. 

It won't mean too much in the grand scheme of things, but the Titans get win No. 3 this Sunday against Jacksonville. This win will most likely be their last of the season, but they'll at least have a puncher's chance at avoiding last place in the AFC South. 

Final Prediction: Titans 24, Jaguars 14