TNF: Titans vs Jaguars Game Thread

Thursday Night Football, Week 14. Tonight the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Titans.

This game has the potential to be about as dreary a contest as it gets on Thursday Night Football. The last time these two offense challenged teams met they produced a rousing 9-6 baseball score, as the Titans hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was not exactly must see TV.

The 4-8 Jacksonville Jaguars come into the game all but eliminated from playoff contention. The Jaguars are fresh off their first win in two months, an ugly 6-0 affair against the Indianapolis Colts. The Jaguars were expected to contend for a Super Bowl title this year; instead they are contending for a top 5 draft pick. The root of their problems lies with two profoundly disappointing players on offense. Blake Bortles is simply a terrible quarterback who is way past his expiration date as a former first round pick, future of the franchise guy. The Jaguars know it is time they move on from Bortles. They benched him in favor of Cody Kessler last week. Unfortunately Kessler is no better. This franchise needs a new starting quarterback, and until they get a good one, they will struggle.

The quarterback, however, is not the only disappointing first round pick on offense. For all the hype surrounding running back Leonard Fournette, a so called generational talent, he has been underwhelming to date. Last year Fournette turned in a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry. This year he’s been worse, running for a horrible 3.5 yards per carry. Fournette was supposed to be a superstar, the cornerstone of the Jaguars offense. Instead he has been a below average running back, a millstone around the neck of a terrible Jaguars offense.

The 6-6 Titans are a team built to match the Jaguars’ futility on offense three and out for three and out. Like the Jaguars the Titans have a first round disappointment at quarterback in Marcus Mariota. It may soon be time for Tennessee to move on from Mariota, who has been nobody’s idea of a play maker at quarterback. The Titans have few weapons on offense other than wide receiver Cory Davis, and they run an ultra conservative offense much like the Jaguars. Watching these two teams slug it out in the trenches is about as much fun as watching the Jets this year. If you’re in the mood for an old fashioned defensive death struggle then tonight’s game is the place to be.

It’s the Titans and the Jaguars in what threatens to be one of the least appealing football games of the year. A divisional rivalry game only fans of the respective teams could love, courtesy of Thursday Night Football.

Enjoy the game everybody.