Titans vs. Jaguars bold predictions for Week 18 clash

It has been a whirlwind season of smiles for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, the jury is still out for Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward. These teams finish their regular season in Week 18, and here are bold predictions for the AFC South division clash.

The Titans hobble in with a record of 3-13, despite having won two of their last four games. As for the playoff-bound Jaguars, they are 12-4 with an impressive seven-game winning streak.

Let’s take a look at what to expect.

Titans QB Cam Ward will throw for 250-plus yards

It would be only the second time all season that Ward has thrown for that many yards in back-to-back games. But despite the detractors, he has been better of late. Over the last four games, he has eight touchdown passes with only one interception.

However, he’s coming off a game where he completed only 21 of 40 passes for 52.5%. And his season completion percentage is 59.6. He has 15 touchdown passes and has protected the ball in the air well, with only seven picks. Still, he has 11 fumbles on the season.

Despite the uneven numbers, some executives still support him as a potentially good NFL quarterback, according to The Athletic. They see through the numbers to the amount of time Ward has had in the pocket.

“He’s running for his life most of the time,” the executive said. “His offensive line is terrible. You grade when things are done right, as much as you can. Throw out the negative plays when they aren’t his fault. Take some of those, too, to see where he can learn and fix things. You look for the flashes, and then hope they can really push it into next year.”

And Ward still has been able to make plays in bad situations.

“The great equalizer is his ability to scramble and make plays,” an executive said. “Who knows if he’ll ever be strong on schedule. It’s hard to know how much it’s sustainable to make plays off schedule outside of the offense.”

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence will hit for 300 yards passing

He’s only accomplished that one time this season. It came in his crazy five-touchdown day against the hapless Jets. The Titans are better on defense, and Lawrence won’t have five TD passes. But he should have a big yardage day.

Tennessee ranks No. 22 in the NFL against the pass. They are No. 17 against the run, which isn’t a ton better. But look for the Jaguars to try to mold Lawrence into a great mindset heading into the playoffs with a pass-happy approach.

The new coaching staff has already helped him a lot, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Yeah, with a new staff, a new system, and a little bit of a new schedule, and the preparation, you try to keep it as similar as possible to what you’re used to and what my routine has been in the past,” Lawrence said. “But it has evolved and changed over time, I think, just getting a better feel. But also my time that I spend with Grant [Udinski], Spence [Whipple], and Liam throughout the week.

“At the end of the week, me and Liam spend a lot of time just going back through everything. So, I feel like, come Sunday, we’re really on the same page. And it never goes perfect — it’s football, and there’s gray, and you play, and you make some mistakes. But I feel like our alignment, and how we see the game, and kind of what we’re expecting to get out of certain plays, and just how I’m seeing it, we’re very aligned, which I think is really helpful.”

The addition of Jakobi Meyers seems to have filled out the receiver room. It’s not that Meyers is a difference-maker, but more like the missing piece. Combine that with Parker Washington’s surprise season (86 catches for 760 yards and four scores), and the Jaguars have something going.

Plus, Brian Thomas Jr. could cut loose with a giant game at any point. He’s had an extraordinarily disappointing season, but still has the talent to come up big.

Jaguars RB Travis Etienne will score twice

Look for a rushing score and one via a pass. Etienne has seven of the former and six of the latter. So why not add one each in the season finale?

The Titans will likely try to take the ground game away from the Jaguars, which will open an opportunity for Etienne to get loose for a one-on-one matchup against a linebacker for a touchdown somewhere along the way.

Etienne said the players are highly motivated, according to jaguars.com.

“To be able to win the division, that’s a huge milestone,” Etienne said. “We don’t really have many inside the organization. To be in that in that position to win one, I feel like we have to win that one – not only for us, but for the organization. We have to keep building on the momentum and the success, and understand it isn’t just one week.

“Just to be able to play to be at the end of the season and to be able to play for something, knowing all the work we’ve put in and are still fighting for something, that’s really great to have.”

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