Titans vs Jaguars Prediction: Take the points for Tennessee on the spread

Jacksonville were cruising to the AFC South title a month or so ago but now they need to win their Week 18 match-up against Tennessee otherwise it will be a very disappointing season in North East Florida.

@NFLGirlUK casts her eye over the encounter and we pick out a couple of bets for the game live on Sky Sports on Sunday evening...

Another huge game will be happening in the final week of the regular season between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. Divisional rivals that are playing this game for completely different reasons, though it’s a matchup that could change how they view their upcoming offseason.

Starting off with the Jaguars, they have not played that well lately. They fell into a horrible four-game losing streak after everybody assumed they’d run away with their division title.

The losing streak resulted in both the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts tying their record heading into the final game. Jacksonville would be behind if it wasn’t for a 26-0 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17, without quarterback Trevor Lawrence available. Lawrence should be back for a pivotal matchup that will determine if they make the playoffs or not.

A loss here to the Titans would automatically have either the Texans or Colts win the division due to them playing one another. Jacksonville would still have a Wild Card spot available, but they’d need some help to get that one locked in as well.

What I’d love to see is this team running the football well. During their losing streak, the ground game was non-existent. Against Carolina, Travis Etienne broke open a few runs and scored multiple touchdowns.

As for the Titans, they have had a rough season. Tennessee has a roster that is severely lacking in the talent department, and most fans recognise that. However, this group is always competitive thanks to their incredible coaching staff. They are always keeping games close despite the players that they’re working with and are always a danger to win if they are kept in the game for too long.

We’ve seen Will Levis start under Center for a few games, same with Ryan Tannehill, and we saw a little action from Malik Willis. They’ve got a quarterback carousel going on down there, and right now it’s looking like Tannehill will end the year.

Regardless of who is starting though, the offense functions thanks to Derrick Henry. They need to get Henry going at some point in this game to control the game clock and force Jacksonville to get out of their rhythm. If Henry doesn’t get involved, it’s going to be a long day out there in Tennessee.

When I’m looking at this game, I would think that Jacksonville can take the win and lock down the division with Lawrence coming back. The problem is that the Titans are scrappy and resilient, while Jacksonville hasn’t always shown an ability to be either of those.

Henry and company are going to be able to keep this divisional game close throughout the contest, and that’s always a recipe for disaster for their opponents. If Tennessee had a consistent quarterback on their roster, this is one of those games that I’d pick them to win.

Unfortunately, we might not even know who’s starting until later in the week, and none of the current options have wound up being consistently good throughout an entire game.

Titans vs Jaguars Odds:

The market likes Jacksonville here despite their recent slide. The Jags are 1/2 on the Money Line with Tennessee priced-up at 13/8 to win the match outright. The spread has been set as the favourites -3.5.

The Total Points number is a middle-of-the-pack 41.5.

Bet 1 - Tennessee+3.5 on the Handicap @ 20/23

This is a tough game to call because all logic says Jacksonville will find a way. Six weeks ago they were a genuine Super Bowl contender for many but injuries and a lack of form has seen their seemingly assured AFC South title go down to Week 18. I'm struggling to trust them but I'm not sold on Tennessee either.

In these situations, getting the three-and-a-half points really make a significant difference. Tennessee even if they lose, find a way to keep it close. So getting them with over a Field Goal head start feels like the way to go.

Bet 2 - 2+ Rushing Touchdowns in the Game @ 21/20

We saw a bit of life from the Jacksonville rushing attack against Carolina last week with former first-round pick Travis Etienne going for 102 yards on the ground and two scores.

That is going to be key for the Jags to win the match and when Derrick Henry is on the other side of the field, with his penchant for performing well in divisional games, I like the odds of two scores of this type on Sunday between both sides.

Remember to check out our NFL Betting Tips index page where we preview games live on Sky Sports along with a weekly Predictions column...