Jaguars Pull Away Late vs. Titans to Reach 7-2
The Jaguars’ matchup against the Titans quickly became a Parker Washington and Trevor Lawrence show Sunday in Nashville.
The Jaguars (7-2) topped the Tennessee Titans (1-8) 40-23 in the first of two meetings between the teams in the next three weeks. Jacksonville extended its winning streak over the Titans to five games and has won eight of the last nine meetings.
Washington finished with seven catches for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown. He added 148 first-half yards and paved the way to Jacksonville’s first 7-2 start since 1998 and coach Liam Coen’s 20th victory with the team. Coen became the 12th-fastest head coach to reach the total.
The scoring party started early for the Jaguars as quarterback Trevor Lawrence led a 10-play, 60-yard drive to open the game. Jacksonville has scored an opening-drive touchdown in three consecutive games for the first time since 2013. Lawrence found Washington on a 2-yard strike for the wideout’s sixth touchdown of the year.
Washington’s longest play was a 50-yard reception on a shallow crossing route at the 10:27 mark of the second quarter. Jacksonville opted for 3 points four plays later and Cam Little knocked in his second field goal of the day.
“He was a man possessed in a lot of ways,” Coen said. “Every ball going his way, he was winning. He continues to show up in a major way.”
Lawrence closed the win with 352 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 25-of-35 passing. The total was his highest since Nov. 26, 2023, when he had 364 against the Texans.
Tennessee, despite dropping its first five games and entering the contest on a two-game skid, kept Sunday close for much of the day. The Titans answered Jacksonville’s opening score with a field goal and picked off Lawrence on the following drive, trailing 16-10 at halftime.
The Jaguars appeared to open the gates with 6:28 left in the third quarter. After Tennessee opened the second half with a field goal, Lawrence led a 10-play, 71-yard drive, but faced fourth-and-2 from Tennessee’s 3-yard line. Lawrence found tight end Brenton Strange on the left side of the end zone after the Titans’ defensive backs were drawn to the in-breaking route.
The Titans were without rookie wideout Carnell Tate, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., left guard Peter Skoronski and punter Tommy Townsend because of injuries, according to the Titans’ injury report. None of the four practiced during the week. Still, the absences didn’t hurt Tennessee much.
Jaguars rookie receiver Josh Cameron scored his third touchdown of the year on a 25-yard catch to make it 30-16, but the Titans quickly bounced back with a four-play scoring drive. Titans quarterback Cam Ward tossed his second touchdown pass of the day, this one to running back Tony Pollard on a 32-yard screen pass. Pollard broke four tackles en route to the end zone. The score cut Jacksonville’s lead to 30-23 with 8:21 to go.
Jacksonville stretched the lead back to 10 points with another Little field goal and stuffed the Titans on their ensuing offensive possession. Ward looked to Pollard on three straight passes, and the back took his ninth carry of the day but was stopped short of the line to gain on fourth-and-1. Jacksonville took over with 3:11 left in the game, and running back Bhayshul Tuten put the game away with a 6-yard touchdown scamper.
The score marked Jacksonville’s fourth straight game with at least 31 points. The Jaguars’ 459 total offensive yards was also a season high.
“Good team win, but Parker was definitely the best player on the field today,” Coen said.
The Jaguars will be back in action Nov. 22 in East Rutherford, N.J., to take on the New York Giants (5-3-1) at 4:25 p.m. The game will be the ninth meeting between the franchises, with the all-time series tied 4-4.
Category: Feature Sports News, Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL
