Jaguars have the AFC South title and a home playoff game within reach against the Titans
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars have a championship celebration planned for their regular-season finale against Tennessee. And they’re finally willing to talk about it.
Hats. T-shirts. Maybe even a cigar or two.
The streaking Jaguars (12-4) can wrap up the AFC South with a victory against the Titans (3-13) at home Sunday. Jacksonville has won seven consecutive games and is a 13½-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Jaguars are 11-0 in franchise history when favored by 12 or more points and haven’t had as much on the line — a division title and a home playoff game — in any of those previous matchups.
After maintaining a “go 1-0 this week” mantra all season, first-year coach Liam Coen and the Jaguars are embracing the stakes of this matchup.
“The message to the players was going 1-0 this week and, yeah, there’s a hat and a T-shirt that comes along with that,” Coen said.
Jacksonville secured a playoff berth two weeks ago and has faced division-clinching scenarios since. But all of those required Houston to lose, and the Texans are the only NFL team hotter than the Jags right now.
“You can talk about winning the division because it’s what we’ve got an opportunity to do, and it’s one game,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “We’re here. Leading up to this point, we weren’t here yet. … We had to win all those games to get to this point to have the opportunity to continue to control the division and keep it in our hands.
“And that’s what we did, and none bigger than this one. We’re here to win the division this week.”
The Titans, meanwhile, are looking to play spoiler.
“They’re going to try to embarrass us at home to win a division,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said. “So I hope guys know and kind of what our message (has) been, especially in the defensive meeting room, (is) to come out there ready to fight.
“Our job is to go out there and win a football game, and it means a lot to us. We haven’t won a division game; they beat us already.”
Tennessee became the first NFL team to make a coaching change this season and will have a new regime in a few weeks. A roster overhaul is likely to follow.
“We can’t control who’s not going to be in this locker room after this season,” Simmons said. “Everyone get paid to do a job and I think guys need to just focus on their film. … Your film is your resume.”
Jacksonville’s resume hasn’t been this stout since 1999. The Jaguars are trying to win 13 games for the first time since that season. They already set the franchise’s single-season scoring record (433 points) and need one touchdown for the most in any season.
More important, they can win the AFC South for the third time.
“The goals don’t change for us,” running back Travis Etienne said. “Just go 1-0. If we do that, all the things that come with that are just going to happen naturally. That’s the greatest thing about football: If you focus on the team objective, great things happen for everyone else.”
Divisional pride on the line for Tennessee
The Titans are trying to avoid going winless in the division for the first time since the inception of the AFC South in 2002. Tennessee has been outscored by 96 points in five divisional losses, with only of those games being close.
“I don’t care what the record is,” guard Peter Skoronski said. “You go against a division opponent and they have something to play for, you better battle your (butt) off. I think that’s what we plan on doing. And we’d love to screw things up a little bit in the AFC if we can.”
Contract bonuses within reach
Titans running back Tony Pollard needs 66 yards to reach 1,100 yards rushing for the season and earn a $250,000 bonus, according to NFL Network. Only Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor has topped 66 yards rushing against Jacksonville and the NFL’s top-ranked run defense this season.
Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead needs 1½ sacks against the Titans to reach seven on the season and earn a $1 million bonus. Armstead, though, hasn’t had a sack since Week 10.
Simmons has been a bright spot for the Titans
Simmons has 10 sacks and three forced fumbles, both career highs. One more sack would give him the most by a Titans defensive tackle since 1999, passing Jurrell Casey’s mark of 10½ in 2013.
The Jaguars consider Simmons the most disruptive defensive tackle in the NFL.
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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
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