The Tennessee Titans coasted to a comfortable 37-19 win over the still-winless Jacksonville Jaguars despite being down wide receiver Julio Jones for the second straight week.
It’s another step for the Titans toward clinching an AFC South division that is being handed to them on a golden platter.
Click here for more PFF tools:
Rankings & Projections | WR/CB Matchup Chart | NFL & NCAA Betting Dashboards | NFL Player Props tool | NFL & NCAA Power Rankings
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill didn’t have to do much to secure this win for the Titans. All of his dropbacks came while leading, and he completed just three passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield in the game.
Tannehill did take three sacks on his eight pressured dropbacks. He’s taken sacks at one of the highest rates in the NFL when pressured since becoming the starter in Tennessee.
Running back
Another game, another massive workload for Derrick Henry. He picked up 130 yards on the ground (92 after contact) on 29 carries, converting 28% of those carries into a first down or a touchdown.
Henry wasn’t targeted on his eight routes in the passing game.
Wide receiver/tight end
It was a low-volume afternoon for Tennessee’s passing game. A.J. Brown, Anthony Firkser and Marcus Johnson were the only Titans pass-catchers with multiple targets. Chester Rogers was the only other receiver with more than 10 routes run.
Receiver | Routes | Targets | Yards |
A.J. Brown | 24 | 5 | 38 |
Marcus Johnson | 20 | 4 | 52 |
Chester Rogers | 15 | 1 | 26 |
Anthony Firkser | 14 | 4 | 33 |
Offensive line
Tennessee’s offensive line delivered a solid overall performance in the run game, including Rodger Saffold at left guard, who was later replaced by Corey Levin.
Pass protection was a different story for some. Taylor Lewan didn’t lose any of his 26 pass-blocking snaps, but Nate Davis allowed a sack and had several additional pass-blocking losses, according to PFF’s first-run analysis.
Defensive line
Harold Landry III and Jeffery Simmons both had solid showings as pass-rushers. Each recorded five or more pressures, pending final review. Landry’s 4.5 sacks through Tennessee’s first five games formed a top-10 mark in the league at the end of the early slate of games.
Linebackers
Rashaan Evans had another rough showing, particularly against the run. He will likely finish as one of Tennessee’s lowest-graded run defenders, and he was the first contact defender on just one of his 29 defensive snaps against Jacksonville.
Secondary
Dane Cruikshank was the target in Tennessee’s secondary (five receptions allowed for 118 yards pending review), but there were plenty of highlights.
Rookie Elijah Molden recorded three coverage stops, allowing just 13 receiving yards on three targets. And Kevin Byard notched an interception and a forced incompletion on the four passes thrown his way.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence did a good job of taking care of the football last week against the Cincinnati Bengals but finished this contest with two turnover-worthy plays. His 11 turnover-worthy plays through five games are the most in the NFL.
Lawrence Turnover-Worthy Plays by Week
Week | Turnover-worthy plays |
Week 1 vs. Texans | 3 |
Week 2 vs. Broncos | 3 |
Week 3 vs. Cardinals | 3 |
Week 4 vs. Bengals | 0 |
Week 5 vs. Titans | 2 |
Both of them came on dropbacks that lasted 2.6 seconds or longer, where Lawrence saw a mix of big plays and mistakes. He completed only 11-of-21 attempts on those dropbacks, but those completions went for 169 yards.
Running back
James Robinson turned in his best rushing performance of the season. He out-carried Carlos Hyde, 18 to 5, turning that workload into 149 rushing yards and a touchdown. Robinson averaged six yards after contact per rushing attempt. That was the highest mark of any back with 15 or more carries in the early slate of games.
Wide receiver/tight end
The highlight from this group was an impressive 58-yard catch and run from Laviska Shenault Jr. in which he forced four missed tackles (pending review), but that was Shenault’s only catch of the game.
Surprisingly, tight end Dan Arnold and wide receivers Jamal Agnew and Tavon Austin were the only Jacksonville receivers to catch multiple passes.
Offensive line
It was a solid overall performance from Jacksonville’s offensive line in pass protection outside of Cam Robinson, who allowed four pressures and had an additional three pass-blocking losses, per PFF’s first-run analysis.
Ben Bartch has an opportunity to finish the week as the Jaguars’ highest-graded offensive lineman (pending review) in his first start of the season at right guard.
Defensive line
Malcom Brown and Adam Gotsis stand out as two of Jacksonville’s lowest-graded run defenders, according to PFF’s first-run analysis. However, both Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson recorded pressure on at least 20% of their pass-rushing snaps (pending review).
Linebackers
Myles Jack should come away from this game with his highest PFF grade of the season, including zero receptions allowed on 13 coverage snaps. Jack didn’t miss a tackle on six attempts in the game — a noteworthy accomplishment with Henry on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Secondary
Shaquill Griffin held his own at his outside cornerback spot (one reception allowed for 10 yards), but the Titans were able to target Chris Claybrooks on the other side (three receptions allowed for 52 yards).
Claybrooks also missed one of his three tackle attempts in the game.