JACKSONVILLE – Each week during the 2023 season, Jaguars "experts" – Tony Boselli, Frank Frangie, Brent Martineau, John Oehser, Brian Sexton, J.P. Shadrick and Kainani Stevens – will analyze the following day's Jaguars matchup.
Up this week:
Tony Boselli, Jaguars analyst and Former Jaguars Left Tackle
- The Jaguars will win if: They at least break even in turnover margin and stop the run on defense. Additionally, Lawrence needs to brush off last week's bad game and get back to playing at a high level. The Jaguars are the better team, they just need to play like it.
- The Titans will win if: Henry gets going in the run game, and the Titans are able to control the tempo. On defense, expect the Titans to mimic the 49ers by playing tight coverage and jumping all the underneath routes. If the Jags don't adjust, the Titans defense will crowd the line of scrimmage and take both the run and pass away.
- As Boselli sees it: Last week wasn't who the Jaguars are, and they will come out Sunday and prove it.. Lawrence and the offense will get back on track and lead the team to a huge division win against the hated Titans, 31-17!
Frank Frangie, Radio Voice of the Jaguars
- The Jaguars will win if: They shake the cobwebs from last week's disappointing loss to the 49ers and get set for a critically important division game. The Jaguars will win if they protect Lawrence better and find some rhythm in the passing game. They must make plays down the field to loosen the Titans' defense. As always, they must contain Henry. They must stuff the box and make Levis beat them.
- The Titans will win if: They get Henry going, their usual recipe. They must take pressure off Levis and harass Lawrence. Teams have gotten him off his spot this year; that is the plan for Tennessee.
- As Frangie sees it: This could be a good bounce-back week. The Jags have the better team. It's a good week to bounce back.
Brent Martineau, Action Sports Jax Sports Director
- The Jaguars will win if: They have one or zero turnovers. Let's keep this simple. We can talk about all the areas of the Jaguars' offense, but does it really matter if you keep handing the ball to the other team? Hold onto the ball. The better team wins. That's the Jaguars. It's simple.
- The Titans will win if: Titans running back Derrick Henry outduels Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. by a good margin. The Titans' offense needs Henry to get rolling; he has rushed for more than 100 yards just twice this season. The Jaguars do not do well on offense when Etienne is shut down. If the Titans can win those areas, their chances of winning dramatically increase.
- As Martineau sees it: This feels like a "what-kind-of-stuff-are-you-made-of?" game for the Jaguars. We still think they are the best team in the division. The offense has something to prove. The defense has something to prove. The team wants to prove it front of their home fans. The Jags should be highly motivated, and it would be surprising to see them play poorly Sunday. The Jaguars will calm everyone down with a 27-13 win over the Titans.
John Oehser, jaguars.com Senior Writer
- The Jaguars will win if: They stop the run, force turnovers and protect the ball. They're good when they do these things and struggle when they don't do these things. They did none of these things against the 49ers last Sunday. If they do all three Sunday, they will win.
- The Titans will win if: Pressure Lawrence into mistakes. The Titans' strength again is their defensive front, and Lawrence has committed 10 of the Jaguars' 17 turnovers this season. The Titans have struggled in a lot of areas this season, but this is an area they can control this game.
- As Oehser sees it: The Jaguars should win Sunday if they play to their strengths – run defense and forcing takeaways. They have lost three of four games at home this season, but they are 3-0 under Head Coach Doug Pederson in games following double-digit losses. The guess here is the Jaguars make that 4-0 Sunday.
Brian Sexton, jaguars.com Senior Correspondent
- The Jaguars will win if: They protect the ball and win the turnover battle. It's the exact same thing I wrote last week. The Jaguars' 17 giveaways this season are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL after last week's four turnovers. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has 10 and must improve situational awareness. The Jaguars have 12 giveaways in the last five games. If that stops, they will beat the Titans.
- The Titans will win if: They take the ball away. It works for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, why wouldn't it work for Titans quarterback Will Levis? Takeaways is the way for the Titans to win.
- As Sexton sees it: The Jaguars will win this one. They saw firsthand last week what a hungry, championship-caliber team looks like – and if they're honest with themselves, they have to admit they didn't play with anything even close to the San Francisco 49ers' intensity level in a loss at EverBank Stadium. I expect a more talented team that knows what is at stake these next two weeks to come out and play with a much higher intensity level.
J.P. Shadrick, jaguars.com Senior Reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: The offense can give Lawrence time and Lawrence effectively uses that time to push the ball down the field in the passing game. If wide receiver Zay Jones returns to the lineup and is right physically, then that could help adjust the Titans' coverage. The Titans have intercepted only three passes all season and opposing quarterbacks have nearly a 99 rating against them. This is the week to get right in the passing game.
- The Titans will win if: Henry gets rolling and takes control of the game. He's the all-time leading rusher against the Jaguars (1,373 yards) and has the most rushing touchdowns of any player ever against the Jags (15) in 13 career games against Jacksonville. If the Titans have the run game going, then the play-action to tight ends or wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will be there with Levis at the controls.
- As Shadrick sees it: The Jaguars' roster is better than the Titans overall, but lack of discipline or focus or execution or self-inflicted errors were some of the issues last week against the 49ers. But if any team can bounce back, it's the Jags: under Pederson, the Jaguars are 3-0 in games following a 10-plus point loss. The last two times it happened the Jags reeled off five-game winning streaks immediately after.
Kainani Stevens, Jaguars.com Team Reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: They get back to basics. The defense had an uncharacteristically bad performance against the 49ers. If they can return to form against the Titans' offensive line, then they will be able to pressure Levis. Pressuring a rookie leads to turnovers and forcing turnovers will lead to a Jaguars win.
- The Titans will win if: Defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons makes it a long day for Lawrence. The Jaguars' offensive line struggled against San Francisco and Lawrence declared it his "worst game ever." Simmons has the capability to wreck a game and make life difficult for Jacksonville's offense.
- As Stevens sees it: Good teams bounce back after bad losses. I expect the Jags to get back on track and take care of business against their division rival. Jaguars, 24-14.
