Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tennessee Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — The Jacksonville Jaguars are showing how quickly a franchise can turn around in a coach's first season. Trevor Lawrence threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 25-3 Sunday for their third straight victory. With the win, the Jaguars (8-4) improved their AFC playoff hopes while chasing their first division title since 2022. This put the Jaguars atop the division with two games left against Indianapolis, and the Colts fell to 8-4 with a 20-16 loss to Houston. “We’re giving ourselves an opportunity to play meaningful games in November and December, and ultimately that’s all you can ask for in this league," Jaguars first-year coach Liam Coen said. “The rest of the way you've got competitive, meaningful football games.” The Jaguars also beat the Titans for the sixth time in seven games that left them nitpicking over not finishing this win better. “We're happy we won,” Lawrence said. "No doubt about that. We come here to win ,and that's what we did. But to even have that feeling of like, ‘Man just didn’t finish clean,' like I think that shows the maturity of the team too.” Josh Hines-Allen had two of Jacksonville's three sacks of rookie Cam Ward, and the Jaguars recovered two fumbles even with the defensive line missing end Travon Walker and tackle Arik Armstead because of injuries. “That’s where we took a step today for our identity of our team of we can be a front-runner and go win the games we should win," Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard said. The Titans (1-11) lost their seventh straight overall and 11th consecutive at home, matching the longest such skid since this franchise moved to Tennessee. They also lost 11 in a row at Nissan Stadium in a stretch over the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Fans booed the Titans early and often before heading to the exits well before the end. “We’ve got to do a better job all around,” said Titans interim coach Mike McCoy who's still looking for his first win after six losses. "It was sloppy. Lawrence threw a 3-yarder to Jakobi Meyers putting the Jaguars ahead to stay late in the first quarter. He threw a 21-yard TD pass to Brenton Strange on the third play after LeQuint Allen Jr. forced and recovered a fumble on a kickoff. After a penalty, Lawrence ran for a 2-point conversion and a 15-3 lead to start the second quarter. Meyers led the Jaguars with six catches for 90 yards. This was his first game with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who was back after missing two games with an injured ankle since Meyers was added from Las Vegas at the trade deadline. Tennessee led 3-0 after a 28-yard field goal by Joey Slye. Bhayshul Tuten padded the Jaguars' lead to 25-3 with a 2-yard TD run with 6:45 left in the third quarter. That drive was kept alive by a roughing the punter penalty on Mike Brown when the Jaguars faced fourth-and-20 from their 19. Flag day Brown was ejected after a bit of a scrum after a Jaguars punt in the fourth quarter. Officials huddled up after settling everyone down, then handed out personal fouls to Brown and Julius Chestnut with the Titans and to Jaguars punter Logan Cooke and long snapper Ross Matiscik. The Titans hurt themselves with 10 penalties. Linebacker Arden Key’s roughing the passer gave the Jaguars points with Cam Little hitting a 45-yard field goal on an untimed down for an 18-3 lead at halftime. The Jaguars matched their season high with 13 penalties. “It’s just a division game, division rivals,” Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said. “The Jags don’t like the Titans, the Titans don’t like the Jags.” Injuries Matisick hurt his back early in the first quarter and returned in the third quarter. WR Patrick Washington hurt a hip in the first half and didn't return. Left tackle Walker Little missed the second half after being evaluated for a concussion. He was replaced by Cole Van Lanen. Cooke returned after being evaluated for a concussion. Titans receiver Xavier Restrepo was being evaluated after hurting his right ankle with 2:26 left. He was carted off the field. Titans safety Amani Hooker hurt a rib late in the game. Up next The Jaguars host Indianapolis on Dec. 7. The Titans visit Cleveland on Dec. 7. ------ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl