The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars faced off on Sunday in Week 14 AFC South divisional action. The Titans had been on the upswing and the Jaguars lost their starting quarterback to a concussion two weeks ago. The Titans were favored to win and most expected them to do so, but the outcome wasn’t what most expected.
The Jags were held scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Titans led for three quarters and most of the fourth, until Tank Bigsby rushed for eight yards into the end zone, giving the Jags a 10-6 lead. On the Titans’ next drive, they turned the ball over on downs after Will Levis couldn’t connect with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone. They never recovered from that and the score remained the same until the final whistle.
Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from Sunday’s Week 14 loss.
STUD: RB Tony Pollard
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Titans’ running back Tony Pollard ran 21 times for 102 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards. He managed to find the end zone one time, but the score was called back for offensive holding. Pollard carried the offense on his back today, shouldering the bulk of the workload and not getting the shots he deserved to score a touchdown. His effort earned him Player of the Game honors.
DUD: WR Tyler Boyd
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Tyler Boyd hasn’t had much of an impact all season. Part of that was the Titans inability to work with three superstar wide receivers, part of it was Boyd dealing with a nagging injury and the sudden rise of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, but part of it is he just hasn’t played well. On Sunday, he was targeted four times but only caught one pass for seven yards.
STUD: CB Chidobe Awuzie
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In his first game back since he was placed on injured reserve in October, Chidobe Awuzie not only intercepted the ball and returned it for eight yards, but he had three tackles (two solo) and one pass defensed. In a depleted secondary that desperately needed a lift, Awuzie provided a spark of excitement and grabbed his first takeaway of the season.
DUD: J.C. Latham
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J.C. Latham is directly responsible for the sack that ended the first half. You know, the one that saw Will Levis get up rubbing his previously injured shoulder. The one that aggravated that previous injury and affected Levis’ ability to perform for the rest of the game. Yes, Latham recovered the fumble, but it was his fault the ball was fumbled in the first place. The rookie has performed well for most of the season, but today was not his day.
STUD: K Nick Folk
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The only player to put any points on the board for the Titans today was kicker Nick Folk. He’s one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL this year, and he’s one of the best kickers in NFL history. He’s missed only one field goal all season, and this week wasn’t that day. His kicks were pretty good, too.
DUD: TE Nick Vannett
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Nick Vannett had an opportunity to score today, and he didn’t catch the ball. In fact, it went right through his hands. He was only targeted twice, catching one pass for four yards. But the dropped pass could have changed the outcome of the game.
STUDLY DUD: WR Calvin Ridley
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Calvin Ridley had a decent game today. He caught seven passes on 12 targets for 59 yards. The problem? On 3rd-and-5 with 1:20 left on the clock, Will Levis found Ridley on the outside. But instead of turning up the field, Ridley ran out of bounds short of the line to gain. It was the nail in the coffin for the Titans.
More STUDS
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- RB Tyjae Spears
- QB Will Levis
- LB Otis Reese IV
- CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
- DT Jeffery Simmons
- P Ryan Stonehouse
More DUDS
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- OL Nicholas Petit-Frere
- OL Dillon Radunz
- NT Keondre Coburn
- LB Cedric Gray
