Jaguars at Titans
THE STORY: Any chance the Tennessee Titans had of jumping up into an AFC wild card spot took a giant hit last week, when they inexplicably fell to the previously winless Indianapolis Colts. Matt Hasselbeck decided to play despite an injured calf and proved to be terrible, yielding to rookie Jake Locker in the fourth quarter. The Titans no longer control their own destiny in the quest for a wild card spot and will need plenty of help. The first thing they need to do is take care of the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. This would seem to be a favorable matchup for Tennessee, but then so was Indianapolis. The Jaguars followed up a 41-14 win in Week 14 with a 41-14 loss last Sunday and have dropped four of their last five games.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Titans -7.5, O/U: 40.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (4-10): Jacksonville has put three-fourths of its starting secondary on injured reserve and has a total of 23 players on IR and out for the season. The lone bright spot is running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who is at 1,334 yards already – 57 yards shy of the career high he set in 2009-10. The Pro Bowl runner is the only thing keeping the pressure off rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. The No. 10 overall pick was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception while being sacked five times and losing a pair of fumble last week.
ABOUT THE TITANS (7-7): Tennessee coach Mike Munchak said that Hasselbeck would be the starter on Saturday despite being pulled against the Colts. Locker, who went 11 of 16 for 108 yards in limited duty last week, has looked strong in three appearances. The Titans are tied with Oakland and San Diego, one game behind the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals for the final AFC playoff spot. Running back Chris Johnson has been held out of practice with a sore ankle but is expected to play Saturday.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Jones needs two rushing touchdowns to pass Fred Taylor (62) for the most in Jacksonville history.
2. Johnson needs 70 yards for his fourth straight 1,000-yard season.
3. Jacksonville won the first meeting 16-14 in Week 1 and has taken three of the last five.