The Indianapolis Colts' loss to New England last week didn't just ruin Indy's unbeaten record and 12-game winning streak, it gave hope to two other teams in the AFC South of dethroning the Colts. Those two, Jacksonville and Tennessee, face off Sunday in Nashville, with the Titans -4.5 on WagerWeb.com.
This game could, frankly, be ugly. Two good defenses against two inconsistent quarterbacks. Sure, Tennessee has Vince Young, who is stellar with his feet but is currently the 33rd ranked QB in the NFL with a 61.5 rating. He is completing 61 percent of his passes but has thrown eight interceptions with just three TD passes - and not one since late September. He's also only averaging 122.1 yards through the air, but he has his team tied for the third-best record in the AFC and on the heels of the Colts, just a game back.
"That's the bottom line -- we're winning games," saiditans coach Jeff Fisher. "He is contributing an awful lot to those wins. If people want 400 or 500 yards passing out of our offense, they're going to have to wait."
There's a reason the Titans are running the ball about 60 percent of the time. Tennessee ranks third in the NFL in rushing and gashed Jacksonville for 282 yards on the ground in a Week 1 13-10 victory.
Second-year back LenDale White should carry the load on the ground today. White, with 613 rushing yards and 5 TDs this season, has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games. Jacksonville may not have to deal with White's backfield mate in Chris Brown, who rushed for 175 yards in the teams' first meeting this year. Brown likely will be out again this week with an ankle injury.
Expect a similar ground assault of Tennessee's by the Jaguars, who rank fifth in the NFL in rushing - although Tennessee is tops in rush defense.
The Jags likely will be starting Quinn Gray at QB again, although injured starter David Garrard returned to practice this week, but not at 100 percent."I took all the reps this week," said Gray, who is 1-1 as a starter and has passed for 510 yards and with 3 TDs and 5 INTs. "Coach told me that most likely, it'll be me starting."
The key to Jacksonville winning this game rests on the legs of running backs Fred Taylor (474 rushing yards) and Maurice Jones-Drew (435 rushing yards, 4 TDs) against that top-ranked rush defense of Tennessee, which hasn't allowed a team to rush for 100 yards this season and held those two to 48 yards in Week 1.
Two stellar defensive tackles will be missing this game.
Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud will begin a four-game suspension, while Tennessee's Albert Haynesworth, who had a career-high three sacks last week against Carolina, missed practice Friday for a third consecutive day with a right hamstring injury and will be a game-time decision.
"We still haven't ruled him out," Fisher said. "He can play without practicing. The decision will be based on how he is before game time."
The lowdown: Tennessee has won three in a row, and the Jaguars defense has struggled that past few weeks, allowing at least 23 points in the last three games and a whopping 538 yards of offense in last week's loss to the Saints. Stroud's absence can only hurt.
Plus, look for Haynesworth to play, giving Tennessee an added edge. Expect a low-scoring game (the WagerWeb.com over/under is 35) and for the running games to almost equal each other out. Somehow, despite mediocre stats again, Young will lead his team to
victory and keep the pressure on the Colts in the AFC South.
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