Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars Week 3 Pick

Outlook for Thursday Night Kickoff

The Jaguars host the Titans on Thursday night where they are a slight home underdog. They have lost their first two games and down to backup QB Gardner Minshew after losing prized free-agent Nick Foles for several weeks in the season opener. Both the Titans and Jaguars are coming off losses in their last games to AFC South teams with Tennessee losing to the Indianapolis Colts 19-17 and Jacksonville lost to the Houston Texans 13-12. Last season the Titans beat the Jaguars twice winning a 9-6 defensive battle in Jacksonville in Week 3 and then beating them 30-9 later in the season at home. Overall, the Titans have won their last four games facing the Jags. In last week’s losses by these teams each had opportunities to get the win, but each came up short. For Tennessee, they got the ball back with the chance to win but could not get into field goal range, and Marcus Mariota failed to convert four of his last seven pass attempts. For Jacksonville, they went for a win after scoring a TD to get within a point late in the 4th quarter but could not convert on the 2-point conversion with Leonard Fournette not being able to run it in. Not only are the Jags 0-2, but one of their best players in CB Jalen Ramsey recently asked for a trade after a heated sideline incident with head coach Doug Marrone during their last game. Jacksonville played good defense in their previous game, and that will likely have to continue for the team to have any chance to win with rookie Minshew under center for the next several weeks.

How the Public is Betting the Packers/Bears Game

The public has backed the Jaguars in this game, as they opened as 2.5-point underdogs and as of Tuesday morning are 1.5-point underdogs. What has really changed is the total, as it opened at 48.5 and has dropped to 40.

Injury Concerns

Titans: RB David Fluellen, G Kevin Pamphile, QB Marcus Mariota, LB Daren Bates, CB Malcolm Butler, WR A.J. Brown, DB Dane Cruikshank, ILB Wesley Woodyard, LB Reggie Gilbert, G Jamil Douglas, and CB Chris Milton are all listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. Jaguars: The Jaguars also have many injury concerns with DE Yannick Ngakoue, CB A.J. Bouye, WR D.J. Clark, TE Josh Oliver, DB Ronnie Harrison, WR Chris Conley, DB Josh Robinson, WR Marqise Lee, LB D.J. Alexander, and DB Cody Brown all listed as questionable. Ramsey is not injured but is unlikely to dress for this game after requesting a trade.

When the Titans Have the Ball

The Titans only had 244 yards of total offense in their loss to the Colts and had more rushing yards (123) than passing yards (111). Mariota is listed as questionable with a quad injury but did not miss any time in the Colts game and will likely be ready to go in this game. Derek Henry rushed for 81 yards in the loss to Indy and averaged a solid 5.4 yards per carry. Tennessee may lean on Henry in this game, as he played well last week and the last time he faced the Jags late last season he rushed for 239 yards. The Titans need to protect Mariota better than they did last week when he was sacked four times losing 35 yards.

When the Jaguars Have the Ball

In their loss to the Texans in their last game the Jaguars had more overall yards (281 to 263) and had balance but still fell to 0-2. Minshew was 23 for 33 with 213 yards with a TD and was not picked off. The offense struggled until the 4th quarter, and Minshew also led the team with 56 rushing yards. Leonard Fournette rushed for 47 yards but only averaged 3.1 yards per carry. However, the Jags may also lean on him more in this game, as in the first game he rushed for 66 yards averaging 5.1 yards per carry. That game was a 40-26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs where the Jags had to air it out more in the 2nd half and in this game face a Titans’ run defense that gave up 167 rushing yards to the Colts.

Betting Trends

While both teams lost their last game, the Jaguars covered the spread while the Titans did not. However, not only have the Titans won their last four games facing the Jags but they have also covered in four straight games against them. Tennessee has covered the spread in their previous two road games against the Jags and in the last six games facing them in the Sunshine State were 0-5-1 ATS. In last season’s 9-6 Tennessee win at Jacksonville, the total went Under, and in the previous nine games between these rivals in Jax, the Under record is 7-2.

Weather Report

The forecast this game is partly cloudy, and for the day there will be a high of 82 degrees and a low of 72 degrees. There is a chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon but not for game time in the evening.