Week 9 Game Recap: Tennessee Titans 7, Jacksonville Jaguars 37

What you need to know

Tennessee Titans

The Titans were outplayed from the outset of this game and did not provide much opposition to the Jaguars. They were unable to gain much momentum on offense, in large part to Jacksonville’s defense, which was outstanding. The Titans also contributed to their inefficiencies on offense by dropping several catchable passes and poor decision making at times by their quarterback.

The best player on offense for Tennessee was running back Travis Henry. His opportunities were limited due to the Titans falling early, but when he was given the ball he ran hard and with power. Henry broke tackles on several of his runs, and finished with 67 yards on 19 carries. He left the game briefly late in the game with a knee injury, but returned for a few additional carries. As the Titans were forced to look to the passing game in an attempt to score quickly, Henry did not have much of an opportunity to get into a rhythm running the ball

Titans’ quarterback Vince Young had a sub-par game against a very aggressive Jaguars defense. Young was victimized by several dropped balls by his receivers, but also contributed to the offensive ineptitude by making poor decisions that led to interceptions. In addition, several of Young’s passes were tipped before they could get to their intended receivers. Young flashed some of his potential on a few plays, the highlight being him demonstrating his mobility by escaping the pass rush to throw a 32 yard pass to Drew Bennett late in fourth quarter for Tennessee’s only score. Young ended with 15 completions in 36 attempts for 163 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

Tennessee’s defense was a non-factor. The Jaguars were able to run and pass seemingly at will early in the game, and the Titans were unable to make adjustments to stop them. They surrendered three passing touchdowns to quarterback David Garrard and gave up 6.4 yards per carry to the running tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars’ offense was efficient and capitalized on good field position provided by their defense to score early and often. They were balanced on offense, running very effectively and complementing that with an aggressive passing attack. On their first trip inside the red zone, the Jaguars called a running play for Fred Taylor, then two consecutive pass plays with the second one resulting in a touchdown. Their only other possession inside the red zone was as a result of an interception return to the two yard line. The first play called was an unsuccessful pass, followed by a run by Maurice Jones-Drew for no gain, which set up a passing play to Ernest Wilford that fell incomplete.

Fred Taylor set the tone early for Jacksonville by taking advantage of opportunities to run the ball early. Although he did not score, his effective running helped open up the passing game. Taylor showcased an impressive blend of power, elusiveness and speed, and was a block or two away from even longer runs on a couple running plays. Maurice Jones-Drew spelled Taylor, and although he was contained for the most part, he was able to show off his explosiveness on a couple of plays, where he ran for a career-nest 40 yards from his own two yard line, and on a 25 yard pass play. On both plays he not only made tackles miss, but he ran over other would be tacklers to gain extra yards.

David Garrard played very well. The Jaguars showed confidence in his ability to handle the passing game by calling several aggressive pass plays for him, and he executed most of them very well. He showed good touch on a variety of passes, and good arm strength on others. Garrard executed the offense very well and appeared very comfortable with all of his passes. He finished with 12 completions on 22 attempts, with 177 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He remained in the pocket and only had two rushing attempts. Garrard’s numbers could have been even better as he overthrew a wide open Ernest Wilford in the end zone on one pass play and saw Matt Jones drop an accurate pass in the end zone on another play. His receivers dropped at least two other passes, but overall Garrard overcame those missteps to play a very good game.

The Jaguars’ defense was aggressive and confounded Young throughout the game, tipping several of his passes and intercepting him three times. They returned one interception for a touchdown, and would have returned another for a score had Young not caught Rashean Mathis at the two yard line. Although they only recorded one sack, the Jaguars applied a lot of pressure to Young throughout the game and caused him to hurry several of his passes.

What you ought to know

QB Vince Young, Pass: 15 - 36 - 163 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 4 - 14 - 0

Young did not have a good game, as he was under pressure from the Jaguars’ defense throughout. Young was victimized by several dropped passes, but poor decision making also contributed to his unimpressive statistics. Despite the tough game, he kept trying to make plays down the field and did not go into a shell and look for safe passes. Young showed good mobility by escaping defenders for sacks several times, but was unable to turn them into big plays, except on the Titans' only touchdown.

RB Travis Henry, Rush: 19 - 67 - 0

Henry ran hard and powerfully, and was fairly effective running the ball. His touches were limited in part to the Titans falling behind early and being forced to focus more on their passing game. Nonetheless when given the ball, Henry managed to gain positive yards, and kept fighting through tackles throughout the game. He was injured and left the game for a few plays but returned.

RB LenDale White, Rush: 7 - 25 - 0, Rec: 2 - 1 - 0 (3 targets)

White showed glimpses of his power on a couple of runs, but otherwise did not leave much of an impression on this game.

RB Ahmad Hall, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0

The third string back had a small role in this game, and did not contribute much.

WR Drew Bennett, Rec: 3 - 51 - 1 (7 targets)

Bennett dropped a pass that was on target, but also had one thrown behind him and another intended for him tipped. Although Tennessee was forced to pass a lot, they did not feature him much, although he was the recipient of a touchdown pass late in the game.

WR Roydell Williams, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (5 targets)

Williams was most noticeable in that all of Young’s interceptions came on passes thrown to Williams, and on his first three targets. In Williams’ defense, one of them was tipped.

WR Brandon Jones, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (4 targets)

Jones was not much of a factor in this game.

WR Bobby Wade (3 targets)

Wade had a forgettable game, dropping two of his targets that were catchable passes, including one that would have kept a Titans’ drive alive.

TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 5 - 70 - 0 (10 targets)

Scaife was the most targeted Titans’ receiver, and seemed to have a good rapport with Young who looked for him throughout the game.

TE Ben Troupe, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (3 targets)

Troupe had a modest game, and was not targeted in the second half.

PK Rob Bironas 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

Bironas was not called into action until there were less than three minutes remaining in the game, when he made an extra point attempt.

TEN Rush Defense

Tennessee’s rush defense did not allow Jacksonville’s running backs to have a great game, but they were unable to stop them from gaining yards after initial contact. They could not gain penetration into the backfield, and had very few big stops.

TEN Pass Defense

Tennessee’s pass defense seemed to be caught by surprise that the Jaguars employed an aggressive passing attack, and gave up several big plays. Various Jaguars’ receivers were able to get open, and the Jaguars would have posted higher passing numbers had it not been for a few dropped passes and overthrown passes. The Titans were unable to get to Garrard consistently with their pass rush, which further exposed their secondary.

QB David Garrard, Pass: 12 - 22 - 177 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0

Garrard was effective subbing for Leftwich, and showed a high comfort level with a game plan that called for him to make a variety of throws that were aggressive in nature. He showed poise in looking at a particular receiver to freeze the defensive backs, then throwing to a different receiver, and displayed good touch on his throws. Garrard did not scramble much in this game, choosing instead to show he could make plays as a passer, and doing so very well. Had it not been for a few dropped passes, his passing numbers could have been higher. He also missed receivers on some other passes, but overall he played very efficiently and led his team to the win.

RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 13 - 79 - 0 (1 targets)

Taylor was very effective in his limited touches, averaging six yards per carry on just 13 rushing attempts. He ran hard and decisively, and showed good escapability on several rushing attempts. He had a very good game considering there was not a big emphasis on the running game by the Jaguars.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 8 - 56 - 0, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (2 targets)

Although Jones-Drew did not have many touches, he showcased his rare combination of speed, power and quickness on a couple of plays where he turned a short pass into a 25 yard reception, and burst through the Titans’ defense from his own two yard line for a 40 yard run. He was in the game on a series where Jacksonville had a first down at Tennessee’s two yard line.

RB Rich Alexis, Rush: 3 - 5 - 0

Alexis came into the game late in the fourth quarter with the outcome of the game very much decided.

RB Alvin Pearman, Rush: 3 - 9 - 0

Pearman mostly contributed as a punt returner, only carrying the ball late in the game.

WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 3 - 44 - 2 (6 targets)

Wilford was Garrard’s favorite target in the end zone. In addition to the two passes he caught for touchdowns, he was targeted on two additional passes in the end zone, but was overthrown both times. Wilford ran a variety of routes, and was able to get open throughout the game.

WR Matt Jones, Rec: 3 - 66 - 0 (6 targets)

Jones posted fairly good numbers, but dropped two passes, including one in the end zone, that could have improved his statistics significantly. He was able to get open consistently as he ran good routes. He was only thrown to once in the second half.

WR Reggie Williams, Rush: 1 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (2 targets)

Williams was not involved very much on offense, and dropped one of the two passes thrown his way. He did pick up a first down on a reverse run play.

TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets)

Lewis had a small part in the offense, as he was used as an outlet receiver in this game.

TE George Wrighster, Rec: 1 - 14 - 1 (1 targets)

While Wrighster was only targeted once, he made the most of it, scoring a touchdown on a nice catch and run.

PK Josh Scobee 3 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 13 points

Scobee had a very good game, converting all four of his extra point attempts and all of his field goal attempts, which were from 47, 21 and 39 yards.

JAX Rush Defense

Jacksonville’s rush defense kept a determined Travis Henry from gaining big chunks of yards on the ground. They remained aggressive as a team despite losing tackle John Henderson in the second quarter. As a team they flowed to the running back and prevented them from breaking free for long gains even if they were able to get past the line of scrimmage.

JAX Pass Defense

Jacksonville’s pass defense was superb in this game, applying constant pressure to Vince Young, and caused him to hurry many of his throws. They managed to intercept three of his passes, returning one for a touchdown and another one to Tennessee’s two yard line. In addition to the interceptions, the Jaguars’ defenders tipped several of Young’s passes and caused the Titans’ quarterback to endure a frustrating day.