PLAYER NOTES:
–DEs Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell have combined for 17.5 sacks against AFC South opponents since Campbell signed with the Jaguars in 2017. The two linemen both recorded a sack last week against Indianapolis and now lead the Jaguars with 7.0 sacks each.
–CB Dee Delaney was waived from the active roster on Monday when RB Leonard Fournette returned from a one-game suspension.
–RB T.J. Yeldon has totaled 472 receiving yards this season, 93 behind the all-time Jaguars record of 565 (Maurice Jones-Drew, 2008) receiving yards by a running back in a single season. Yeldon’s 53 receptions in a single season are tied for second (Jones-Drew, 2009) among Jaguars running backs. Yeldon needs 10 more catches to surpass Jones-Drew’s record of 62 receptions in the 2008 season.
–WR DJ Chark Jr. is still not practicing with a quadriceps injury and is likely out of Thursday’s game against the Titans.
–NT Abry Jones has a shin contusion and was wearing a boot earlier in the week. He’ll likely miss the Tennessee game after starting the previous two weeks.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: CB Ronnie Harrison. When Harrison was drafted in the third round last April, many thought it was just a matter of time until he worked his way into the starting lineup. Most thought it would come next year, giving Harrison a year of study under nine-year strong safety Barry Church. But with the Jaguars all but out of the playoff picture for 2018, the Jaguars decided it was time for the rookie to replace the veteran. Harrison had seen increased playing time as the season progressed and last week earned his first start. He responded with a solid outing and made one of the game’s biggest plays when he came on a safety blitz and sacked Andrew Luck for a 9-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 play at the Jaguars 19-yard line with 2:30 left in the game. Had the Jets kicked a field goal there, they could have added another field goal and forced overtime when they moved inside the Jaguars 30 on their next drive, just prior to time expiring. Harrison’s big play prevented a possible winning touchdown later in the series or a field goal that could have helped the Colts to a possible OT session.
GAME PLAN: Run, run, run the ball for the Jaguars. That’s what the Jaguars wanted to do the first time they met Tennessee this year in Week 3. But with Leonard Fournette out with a hamstring injury, the team abandoned the running game too soon. Their three running backs carried a total of 14 times for 60 yards while then starting quarterback Blake Bortles passed 34 times, completing 21 but for just 155 yards. That won’t happen Sunday, in fact those numbers are likely to be reversed with the Jaguars running the ball close to 40 times and passing less than 20 occasions. Fournette is back from his one-game league-imposed suspension, and should be fresh and ready to match or exceed his season-high of 28 carries (for 95 yards) three weeks ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was headed for his first 100-yard game of the season two weeks ago when he was ejected late in the third quarter after rushing 18 times for 95 yards up to that point.
Defensively, look for the Jaguars to follow a similar plan as in their first meeting with the Titans when they allowed Tennessee running backs Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis just 83 yards on 27 carries. They held Marcus Mariota to 100 passing yards but the Titans quarterback hurt the Jaguars by scrambling for 51 yards on seven carries.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Titans QB Marcus Mariota vs. Jaguars MLB Myles Jack. Mariota has not hurt the Jaguars with his arm, passing for 100, 215 and 134 yards in the teams’ last three meetings, but at the same time, he has gained yardage on crucial downs. Mariota has rushed for 51, 24 and 60 yards in those three games, the 135 yards coming on 23 scrambles, an average of just under six yards per try. Former Jacksonville high school standout Derrick Henry has rushed for 200 yards in those three games but that makes Mariota the Titans’ second-leading rusher against Jacksonville in the three previous games, all of which resulted in Tennessee wins. That’s why Jack will play a key role in spying on Mariota, especially on third-down passing plays. Jack had struggled in his three previous games but turned in probably his top performance this season when he had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery last week against Indianapolis. Jack has the speed and athleticism to keep up with Mariota and will need to do so to keep him from extending Titans’ drives with third-down conversions.
–Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette vs. Titans DT Jurrell Casey. The Jaguars need a productive game out of Fournette. He’s rushed for 95 yards in each of his last two games but was forced to sit out last week’s contest against Indianapolis with a league-imposed, one-game suspension. That leaves him healthy and fresh for Thursday’s contest, unlike players on both teams who only got three days to recuperate from last Sunday’s game. The Jaguars will feature Fournette a lot, probably in the range of 25-30 carries. They want to establish the threat of the running game in order to take the burden off quarterback Cody Kessler who will start for the second time this season. The Jaguars will employ a RPO on occasion with the hope of drawing in linebackers before they dump short passes over the middle to slanting receivers. Casey will be instrumental in stopping Fournette. The ninth-year, 305-pound defensive tackle is tough to move off the line of scrimmage and with the Jaguars forced to go with three backups as starters due to injuries on the offensive line, Casey could be a dominant force in the middle of the line. His 5.5 sacks this year rank among the league leaders at his position. He had one sack and forced a fumble in the first meeting this year between the two teams. But he did not encounter Fournette in that game as the Jaguars running back missed a second straight contest due to a hamstring injury.
