NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Another week, another second-half disaster.
This was one was perhaps the biggest yet – and it defined yet another Jaguars loss on Sunday.
The Tennessee Titans scored touchdowns on three consecutive offensive plays early in the third quarter, turning a tight game into yet another one-sided Jaguars loss in Nashville – this one 42-20 in front of 60,926 at Nissan Stadium.
"We gave up some big plays, getting reached on the big run," Head Coach Doug Marrone said. "When you're not a very good football team, those things spiral out. We're going to get a lot of questions; going to give everyone a gut check. We've got to keep our nose down."
The Titans outscored the Jaguars 28-0 in the first 8:03 of the second half Sunday.
Titans running back Derrick Henry rushed for 159 yards on 19 carries, scoring twice on back-to-back offensive plays during the deciding flurry to open the second half. Henry rushed for a 74-yard touchdown to give the Titans a 21-3 lead, then scored on a seven-yard run one play after a lost fumble to push the lead to 25 points.
The Jaguars allowed 222 yards rushing yards, marking the third consecutive game they have allowed 200 more rushing yards. They lost those three games by a cumulative 101-36.
The Jaguars entered the second half trailing 7-3 Sunday. They had entered halftime trailing the Houston Texans 9-3 in London two games ago before losing 26-3, then entered halftime trailing the Indianapolis Colts 10-7 in a 33-13 loss last week.
The Jaguars' third consecutive loss dropped them further into last place in the AFC South at 4-7. The Titans are now 6-5. The loss was the Jaguars' sixth in as many seasons in Nashville.
Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, after rushing for 63 yards in the last two games – and after carrying a season-low eight times for 23 yards in a loss to Indianapolis last week – rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
"It was a tough loss today," Fournette said. "You can't really put it into words – a couple of plays we needed we didn't make on both sides of the ball. We work our ass off the entire season and we didn't get the results we wanted or needed."
Quarterback Nick Foles, making his second start after missing eight games with a broken clavicle, completed 32 of 48 passes for 272 yards and no touchdowns with no interceptions.
"It's plain and simple: We got beat," Foles said. "Tennessee came out and really gave it to us. Obviously, it didn't go our way. We fought until the end, but they flat-out just beat us."
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 14 of 18 passes for 259 yards and no touchdowns with no interceptions. The Jaguars registered one sack Sunday - -a first-half strip/sack/recovery by defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
Step by step:
*The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first quarter, with perhaps the biggest early play coming when Jaguars center Brandon Linder was called for holding to negate a run by Fournette to the Titans 16. That pushed the Jaguars back to the 34 and a sack by defensive end Harold Landry on Foles pushed the Jaguars out of field goal range. The Titans drive deep into Jaguars territory late in the quarter, but Ngakoue's sack/fumble/recovery kept the game scoreless. …
*The Titans again drove effectively on their first drive of the second quarter, taking a 7-0 lead when Tannehill rolled right and scored on a 21-yard run. … The Jaguars drove into Titans territory on the ensuing possession, cutting the lead to 7-3 on a 49-yard field goal by kicker Josh Lambo with 1:50 remaining in the half. …
*The Titans extended the lead to 11 points on the first drive of the third quarter, with Tannehill throwing a one-yard pass to offensive tackle Dennis Kelly from a heavy formation for a 14-3 lead with 13:13 remaining. Henry's 74-yard touchdown run came on the Titans' next play from scrimmage and made it 21-3 with 10:40 remaining in the quarter. Jaguars rookie returner Michael Walker fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Henry's seven-yard run on the ensuing play made it 28-3. The Titans continued stretching the lead on the ensuing series with Tannehill passing 65 yards to wide receiver A.J. Brown with 6:57 remaining in the third quarter. Fournette's one-yard run followed by a pass from Foles to wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. cut the lead to 35-11 with 2:23 remaining in third quarter.
*Fournette cut the Titans lead to 35-17 with a second touchdown run in as many drives, a series that began when defensive tackle Abry Jones recovered a fumble by Henry at the Jaguars 4. The Titans negated that touchdown when Tannehill capped the ensuing drive with his second touchdown run of the game – a three-yarder that made it 42-17 with 9:47 remaining. A 50-yard field goal by Lambo with 4:48 remaining cut the lead to 42-20.
Injury report: Jaguars safety Ronnie Harrison left the game after sustaining a concussion in the first quarter; he was replaced in the lineup by rookie Andrew Wingard. … Cornerback Tre Herndon was cleared to return after being evaluated for a concussion in the second quarter.
Notable: Jaguars right guard Will Richardson Jr. was held of Sunday's game as a healthy scratch, with tight end Seth DeValve missing a second consecutive game with an oblique injury; Richardson, a second-year veteran, had been rotating with veteran A.J. Cann at right guard through the first 10 games of the season. … The Jaguars other five game-day inactives Sunday: Quarterback Josh Dobbs, wide receiver C.J. Board, running back Tyler Ervin, cornerback Tae Hayes and offensive lineman Brandon Thomas.
What's next: The Jaguars will play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at TIAA Bank Field Sunday at 1 p.m.
