Jacksonville rookie Rashad Greene set up the game-winning touchdown with a 63-yard punt return to lead the Jaguars to a 19-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. Here's what you need to know.
- The Jaguars had netted just nine points off of six trips into Titans' territory prior to Greene's punt return. Spooked by a Brian Orakpo third-down sack at the 5-yard line just before halftime, the coaching staff went conservative in the second half, at one point running backup tailback Denard Robinson three straight times inside the 7-yard line.
Blake Bortles entered the game on pace for 34 touchdown passes. The Jaguars invested $46 million in red-zone specialist Julius Thomas. They spent second-round draft picks on spectacular leaper Allen Robinson and dual-purpose running back T.J. Yeldon. Second-year receiver Allen Hurns had been the only player in the NFL with a touchdown catch in seven consecutive games. Head coach Gus Bradley and offensive coordinator Greg Olson need to trust their playmakers to do what they were acquired to do in key situations.
- Marcus Mariota's opportunity to drive for the tying field goal was aborted when Jaguars cornerback Davon House forced and recovered tight end Phillip Supernaw's fumble with three minutes left in the game. Given a chance to drive for the game-winning touchdown a minute later, Mariota moved the chains inside Jacksonville's 30-yard line only to be sacked by Andre Branch as time expired. Mariota pulled off a spectacular 23-yard touchdown run, but simply has no reliable help in the passing game beyond tight end Delanie Walker. The Titans need to invest in a downfield threat in 2016.
"It was pretty productive there until the last play. (Mariota) had a lot to do with that. He had a chance to win it. He is going to win a lot of those games," Mike Mularkey said of his quarterback.
- Led by "game-wrecker" Orakpo, the underrated Tennessee defense controlled the game for three quarters, dominating the line of scrimmage. With four more sacks, the Titans are now on pace for 50, which would be their most since the 2000 squad that lost to the Super Bowl champion Ravens in the AFC playoffs.
- The Jaguars did make a concerted effort to get Julius Thomas more involved. Even with the short fourth-quarter touchdown, the results weren't much different than the disappearing acts of the previous three weeks. Beat writers described the Pro Bowl tight end as the best player on the team early in training camp. For whatever reason, he has appeared sluggish since returning from a fractured hand in mid-October.
- Rookie David Cobb's Titans debut was uneventful. Recently activated from IR-boomerang, the fifth-round pick lost three yards on four carries. Lead back Antonio Andrews doesn't have to start looking over his shoulder just yet. It's worth noting that Bishop Sankey was a healthy scratch with Cobb active. Even with the coaching change from Ken Whisenhunt to Mularkey, the 2014 second-round pick remains deep in the doghouse.
- While the Titans have fallen to 2-8, the Jaguars have a chance to move into a three-way tie atop the AFC South if the Texans and Colts fall to the Jets and Falcons, respectively. Jacksonville has a major scheduling advantage with remaining games versus the 2-7 Chargers, the 2-8 Titans, the 4-5 Colts, the 6-3 Falcons, the 4-6 Saints and the 4-5 Texans.
