Titans 20, Jaguars 16
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Playing for nothing but pride at this point in the season, the Tennessee Titans wrapped up its road schedule with a 20-16 win Sunday over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Titans (6-9) came into the game losers of five of their last six and as one of only two teams in the NFL without a divisional win, but Tennessee ensured it would not need a victory next week in its season finale at home against the Houston Texans to avoid being blanked in the AFC South.
Tennessee secured the win when Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne was intercepted by safety George Wilson on Jacksonville's potentially game-winning drive in the final minutes.
Tennessee, which may have helped embattled head coach Mike Munchak keep his job with the win, was led by running backs Shonn Greene and Chris Johnson. Greene ran 19 times for 91 yards with a touchdown, while Johnson added 90 yards on 22 carries.
Tennessee wide receiver Nate Washington, who caught the go-ahead, 30-yard touchdown from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick early in the fourth quarter, led all wideouts with six catches for 117 yards.
Fitzpatrick, one week after throwing for a career-high 402 yards and four touchdowns in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, was steady Sunday, finishing 17-for-26 passing for 181 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, lost their second game in a row and fell to 4-11 on the year. Their home woes also continued as Jacksonville is now just 2-14 at EverBank Field since last season. After taking a 13-6 lead to halftime, the Jaguars were held to just 85 second-half yards and three points.
Henne was hot-and-cold for the second straight game. He was 15-of-21 passing for 181 yards in the first half before finishing 24 of 34 for 237 yards, two TD passes and a pick. Both passing scores came early -- a 4-yarder to tight end Marcedes Lewis in the first quarter and a 7-yarder to wide receiver Mike Brown in the second -- but then the Jaguars' offense struggled after that. Even kicker Josh Scobee, who had been perfect all season in point-after attempts, missed his first PAT of the season.
Brown led the Jaguars in receiving with five catches for 71 yards.
The Titans opened the game with a solid, 64-yard march down the field after starting inside their own 10, then kicker Rob Bironas capped the drive with a 45-yard field goal to give Tennessee the early 3-0 lead.
Jacksonville responded on its second series with Lewis' TD. The drive was highlighted by a 9-yard screen pass to 14-year veteran center Brad Meester, who announced earlier in the week he was retiring at the end of this season, making Sunday his final home game. Meester rumbled nine yards to the 4-yard line before being brought down just short of the end zone to set up first-and-goal.
The Titans pulled to within 7-6 on a 52-yarder by Bironas on their second-to-last drive before halftime. Jacksonville answered with a seven-play scoring drive to extend its lead to 13-6 with less than a minute before intermission when Henne hit Brown for his second passing TD.
Fitzpatrick was picked off on Tennessee's first drive after the half when Jaguars cornerback Alan Ball made an acrobatic, juggling catch of the errant throw for his second interception of the year. Eight plays later, Scobee booted a 36-yard field goal to extend Jacksonville's lead to 16-6.
The Titans cut into that deficit with 4:01 left in the third quarter when Greene scored, capping an 80-yard march to make it 16-13. After the Jaguars' next possession lasted just 41 seconds, Tennessee drove right back down the field and regained the lead for good, 20-16, following Fitzpatrick's dart to Washington.
One week after running for 159 yards as a team, the Jaguars rushed for just 63 yards Sunday. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who was a game-time decision with a hamstring injury, rushed for a team-high 45 yards.
Both teams struggled on third down. Tennessee was 3 of 13, while Jacksonville was 3 of 11.
The Titans avenged a 29-27 loss in Week 10 that marked the Jaguars' first win of the season at the time.
Notes: Before and after the game, the Jaguars honored C Brad Meester, who announced Wednesday he was calling it a career after 14 seasons. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound former standout at Division I-AA Northern Iowa was selected by the Jaguars in the second round of the 2000 draft and holds nearly every major service record with the franchise, including seasons (14), games played (208), games started (208) and consecutive starts (93) ... Tennessee leads the all-time series with Jacksonville 21-17.
