The Jaguars’ defense picked up against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday where it left off against the Detroit Lions last week: playing like open turnstiles.
But seemingly on the verge of a blast, the Jags began to rack up the turnovers, three in the first half and another early in the fourth quarter. The offense converted every Tennessee error into points in a 36-22 win, the Jaguars’ first victory at Nissan Stadium in nine games since 2013 and the first against the Titans since the 2019 season to snap a five-game losing streak .
Jaguars Bulletin:Jaguars Report Card: Near-perfect performance leads to 3 A’s, one B
Jags 36, Titans 22:Quick takes dominant day in Nashville
Trevor Tracker 2022:How do Trevor Lawrence’s first 13 starts compare to 2021? here’s how
The Titans (7-6) had three fumbles, recovered by Dawuwane Smoot, Josh Allen and Arden Key, and an interception by Andrew Wingard, who was playing with a bumped shoulder he injured in the game’s first series.
Turnovers led to 20 points: Trevor Lawrence passing touchdowns to Evan Engram and Zay Jones after the first two fumbles recovered and Riley Patterson threw field goals after Wingard’s pick and Key’s recovery. The Jaguars (5-8) have turned turnovers into 78 points this season, fourth in the NFL.
“The takeout, the sacks, the pressure, all the things we keep talking about came up in that football game,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “Hats off to the defence…a bit of a rocky start with them running the football, but they settled into the game of football and handled our business better.”
Henry bullies Jags early
For most of the first half, the Jaguars defense didn’t look much better than last week when they allowed scores on eight straight possessions by the Lions, until the knees were exhausted.
And as usual against the Titans, Yulee’s Derrick Henry was setting the tone.
Henry scored on the Titans’ first possession on a 3-yard run to cap an easy 76-yard drive, broke up a 50-yard run to set up another score and secure his fifth career 100-yard game against the Jaguars at the end of the second quarter.
But after the Jaguars took a halftime lead at 20-14 on Lawrence’s 20-yard TD pass to Zay Jones with 11 seconds left – a scoreline set up by Henry’s fumble – then extended it to 36-14 at one point, the Titans couldn’t afford to run the ball much, and Henry had 2 yards on three carries in the second half.
He also had another fumble early in the fourth period that led to Patterson’s final field goal.
Tennessee, 30th in the NFL by the way, is currently not built to rally three scores behind in a quarter. As the Titans took the lead with Tannehill’s 2-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and a two-point pass to Chigoziem Okonkwo within eight minutes, then drove for a first down to the Jaguars 20 with 2:41 to go. , the Jaguars defense asserted themselves once again, with a sack from Josh Allen (his first in nine games), pass breakups by Tyson Campbell and Key, then an Allen rush in fourth-and-18.
“We’ve been talking all week that all 11 guys need to stop their running game,” Pederson said. “To be able to do that you have to have penetration, get guys into the backfield on first downs to stumble it. But offensively you get a lead and they have to get the ball in the air. That’s takes a guy like Derrick out of the game and downplays his opportunities.”
Teamwork on fumble recoveries
Two of the fumble recoveries were splendid examples of collaboration.
On the first fumble, rookie outside linebacker Travon Walker sacked Tannehill and dropped the ball, with Smoot bounding on it.
And at the end of the first half, when it looked like the Titans offense was about to score again, substitute linebacker and Oakleaf graduate Shaq Quarterman might have played the game of the match.
Patterson connected on a 43-yard field goal to cut Tennessee’s lead to 14-13, but he kicked out of bounds, giving the Titans the ball on their own 40-yard line. Henry then snapped a 21-yard gain against the Jags’ 37 on the play before the two-minute warning.
On the next play, Tannehill looked down, saw nothing and dumped the ball to Henry on the right side. Henry plowed for 16 yards and a first down near the Jags’ 20, but after being slowed by Campbell near the sideline. Quarterman, who plays mostly on special teams but was needed as a backup linebacker due to Chad Muma’s injury, came from the other side and exploded on Henry, releasing the ball.
He fell straight into Allen’s arms and six games later Lawrence connected with Jones to give the Jags a 20-14 halftime lead when the Titans nearly led 21-13.
“Great for him,” Pederson said of Quarterman. “He hasn’t had a ton of shots on defense. He’s a special teams guy, one of those guys that you like to have on your team…base player, hard worker. I’m excited for him and how he made that game. A big hit on a big back.
Quarterman said he’s tried to stay patient in his four seasons playing special teams and supporting a parade of inside linebackers for the past three years, and rewarded himself with the biggest play he’s ever played. did as a Jaguar.
“It’s all…the fact that the coaches trust me so much,” he said. “Patience is a virtue. It’s definitely hard at times, but you just have to keep believing and stick to the process.”
On Henry’s fumble, Quarterman was inside linebacker on the play side and as it unfolded he actually slipped to the turf twice, once while falling. He got up and continued to run for the ball.
“Finish the play,” he said. “When you run for the ball, good things happen.”
Quarterman also said he didn’t realize Henry had lost control of the ball.
“I didn’t know the ball was out,” he said. “I was just trying to do my job.”
He also said no one on defense gave up hope when the Titans got through early.
“No game is perfect,” he said. “As long as we play together, communicate and finish, we can always hang our hats on that. Today we were quick, physical and relentless.”
Turnover more than doubled in total 2021
The four turnovers were a season high and the most in a game since the 2017 season opener against Houston. It also gave the Jags 20 turnovers this season, more than double last season’s total of nine and the most since the 2017 AFC South Championship side had 38.
Since 2017, the defense has averaged 15.5 turnovers per season.
The Jaguars also had the most turnovers in a game against the Titans since four on Nov. 10, 2013 – the last time they beat Tennessee in Nashville. The Jaguars have had just three combined turnovers in their last four games against the Titans and haven’t had one in two games last year.
The Jaguars also had the most sacks in a game since getting five in Week 2 against Indianapolis. Key and Foley Fatukasi contributed sacks with Allen and Walker, and the Jaguars had nine hits on Tannehill. The defense has 23 sacks for the season.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter