Tennessee Titans grades vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Unpacking a final win for Ryan Tannehill
The Tennessee Titans ended their season on a positive note, ending a losing streak and their rival's chances of making the playoffs in the process.
The Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-20 on Sunday, ending the Jaguars' chances of winning the AFC South and of reaching the playoffs behind a dominant rushing day and a series of impressive fourth-down stands in the fourth quarter.
The win ended a three-game losing streak and ensured the Titans (6-11) will not go into the offseason on a long losing streak for the second season in a row. Jacksonville finished the season 9-8.
Here are The Tennessean's grades for Sunday's game.
Offense: A-
Where'd that been all season? Derrick Henry (season-high 153 yards) ran like it was 2020 again. Ryan Tannehill (17-for-26, 168 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) was efficient, effective and, for the most part, protected. Younger players Tyjae Spears and Chig Okonkwo flashed their talents in the open field. The play-calling was creative, but also let the Titans highlight their strengths rather than play around them.
Defense: B
Two interceptions in a game is pure catharsis for a team that had missed so many opportunities for turnovers all season. Catharsis aside, this was a pretty standard Titans defensive game. The run defense played well. The secondary made some mistakes. The pass rush wasn't super active, but there were still more than a few plays made in the backfield. The Jaguars were successful on third down but not so much in the red zone. But the fourth-down stops in the second half make this grade quite a bit better.
Special teams: C-
Ty Zentner's fumbled punt snap directly led to points for the Jaguars, reason enough to drag the grade down on an otherwise-uneventful day for the specialists.
Coaching: B+
Mike Vrabel and the Titans' players spent the entire week talking about how this game mattered even if the Titans had nothing to play for. A squad that truly believed Sunday took away one of their division rivals' chances of making the playoffs. Kudos to the coaching.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans grades vs. Jaguars: Unpacking Ryan Tannehill's final hurrah
