I don’t know what to say about this game. I opened Enemy Intelligence by describing the game as a “Pillowfight!” Having experienced the game, it kind of was, it kind of wasn’t. In the end, how to describe it doesn’t matter as much as the final result: Jacksonville Jaguars 24 – Tennessee Titans 19.
The Titans offensively looked like how I thought they’d look this year. Chris Johnson ran very hard at times, but ultimately without finding a lot of production against one of the league’s worst defenses. Jake Locker made some good throws, like the corner route to Kenny Britt that made it 21-19 in the fourth quarter, and some I thought were more inaccurate. Offensively, their biggest problem was lack of execution in or at the edge of the red zone, as they attempted six field goals (Rob Bironas missed one).
Defensively, the Titans had a pass rush they haven’t had the rest of this season, finishing with 7 sacks. At the same time, though, Chad Henne found open receivers in the middle of the field when he wasn’t going down. Cecil Shorts ran through would-be tacklers for a 59-yard score. Justin Blackmon ran through defenders for a touchdown that made it 21-12 in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars didn’t do that much on the ground, but they did enough.
At the end, it’s just a loss, an uninspiring loss against a bad team in a winnable game. At 4-7, the very slim playoff hopes are basically dead even in a weak AFC. Then again, that’s almost a small mercy in my eyes-the game against Miami looks even more like the mirage I thought it likely was, the rare very good performance by a team that is very bad.
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