Six things to watch for the Titans in Sunday’s game at the Jaguars

NASHVILLE – The Titans face the Jaguars on Sunday at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

Here’s a look at six things to watch for in the competition:

Mason Rudolph will be back in the saddle at quarterback for the Titans as he makes his fifth start of the year. In seven games this season, including his four starts, Rudolph has completed 120-of-188 passes for 1,267 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, with a 79.8 rating. After turning the ball over three times last Sunday in Indianapolis, Rudolph will look to play cleaner.

The Titans allowed a whopping 335 rushing yards last week against the Colts, the largest total of the “Titans era.” Both coaches and players were not happy about it. Now we find out if they fixed things. The Jaguars have a pair of talented running backs in Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. The Titans will need to be more disciplined and tackle better. It could start with some more shuffling at inside linebacker.

Can Okonkwo keep the momentum going?

Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo has been on a roll of late, and he would love to keep the momentum going. In the past two games, Okonkwo has 17 catches for 140 yards, including a nine-catch performance in Indianapolis. In Jacksonville, he will aim for his third straight game with eight-plus catches and 55-plus receiving yards. Okonkwo is just the third tight end in franchise history to record eight or more receptions in consecutive games, joining Delanie Walker (2015) and Jared Cook (2011). Neither player did it in three straight games.

Running back Tyjae Spears has been on a heater himself lately. Spears has scored four touchdowns in the last two games and is coming off a game in which he recorded two rushing TDs for the first time in his career. The emergence of Spears has helped an attack that has had Tony Pollard all season. Pollard has 230 scrimmage yards (115 per game) in two career games vs. the Jaguars, including 124 scrimmage yards (102 rush, 22 rec) in the Week 14 meeting between the two teams.

The Titans have scored 30-plus points three times this season, including last week’s game in Indy, and they’ve scored 27-plus points in each of their last two games. But we all remember what happened when the Titans and Jaguars played on Dec. 8 — the Jaguars and Titans combined for just one touchdown and 16 points in a 10-6 Jacksonville win. How’s this for something to watch: The record since 2000 for fewest combined points between two teams playing twice is 30. The Titans and Jaguars would have to combine for fewer than 14 to break that record. Nobody wants to see this.

Both of these teams were eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago, so RIP to our playoff scenario graph here. I told people I’d be following the draft scenarios, so I’ll include this: The Jaguars (3rd) and Titans (5th) are both in a position to pick in the top 5, behind the Giants (2-13) and Patriots (3-12), with the Browns (3-12) and Raiders (3-12) also in the mix. The Titans haven’t made a top five pick since 2017 (Corey Davis, 5th). The Jaguars are a one-point favorite.