Jaguars vs. Titans series history: Let’s sail into the playoffs on a high note

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the playoffs no matter what. The Tennessee Titans need some help to get there with a loss, but a Week 17 win would get them in. The Jaguars aren’t going to make it easy on their AFC South foes, though.

This is the second matchup of the season for these teams. The Titans took the Jaguars to school in Week 2 with a 21-point win, but the two franchises definitely moved in different directions as the season progressed.

Let’s go over series history one last time for the 2017 regular season — did I mention the Jaguars were in the playoffs?

Series history

All-time regular season series record: Titans lead 25-20

Postseason Record: Titans lead 1-0

Last Jaguars win: Dec. 24, 2016 (38-17)

Last Titans win: Sept. 17, 2017 (37-16)

Current Streak: Titans with one win

Biggest Jaguars win: 37-7 (Nov. 5, 2006)

Biggest Titans win: 41-14 (Dec. 26, 1999)

Interesting takeaway: The teams have split the season series for the past eight seasons.

Quick thoughts: The home team has won six of the past seven games, but as we all recall, that was not the case for Jacksonville during the first matchup in 2017. The away squad had won the two matchups prior to that. It’s also no mystery that these two fierce rivals have a history of splitting the season series. As noted above, it’s happened each of the past eight seasons, and 16 times overall — including both seasons when the Titans were still known as the Houston Oilers (1995-1996). Death, taxes and a Jaguars/Titans split are certain in life.

Last Matchup

Winner: Titans

Score: 37-16

Date: Sept. 17, 2007

Location: EverBank Field, Jacksonville

Team Stats: Jacksonville — 223 passing yards, 99 rushing yards, 20 first downs
Tennessee — 215 passing yards, 179 rushing yards, 21 first downs

Quick recap: This game was tight until deep in the third quarter, when Jacksonville imploded. Blake Bortles threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, and the defense was perhaps gassed from spending too much time on the field. The Titans jumped out to a 23-3 lead with 2:49 left in the third quarter and didn’t look back from there. Derrick Henry rushed for 92 yards and a score, and was a big factor in the Titans’ win.

Previous Matchup:

Winner: Jaguars

Score: 38-17

Date: Dec. 24, 2016

Location: EverBank Field, Jacksonville

Team Stats: Jacksonville — 345 passing yards, 84 rushing yards, 25 first downs
Tennessee — 223 passing yards, 58 rushing yards, 19 first downs

Quick recap: Sheldon Day sacked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota in the third quarter of this game, which broke Mariota’s fibula and ended the rest of his 2016 season. The Jaguars dominated this contest and led the whole way. Blake Bortles led the charge with an efficient game — 325 yards passing, one touchdown and no interceptions. Even when Mariota was in, this game was never in question.

Series By Decade:

1990s: Series tied 5-5 in the regular season and Titans lead 1-0 in playoffs (1999-2000 season)

2000-2010: Titans lead series 13-9

2011-Present: Titans now lead 7-6

Quick thoughts: This has been a close series throughout. When the Jaguars entered league competition in 1995, the two teams split that season series, and split the remaining years in the 1990s as well. Tennessee dominated from 2000 to 2010, with 13 wins, including a five-game winning streak from 2001 to 2003. Currently, as we all know, a season split is seemingly all but inevitable.

So, will the Jaguars end 2017 on a high note and sail into Wild Card weekend with an 11-5 record? Or will the Titans sweep the Jaguars for the first time since 2006?