Jaguars End Skid, Beat Titans 29-27 For First Win
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are winless no more, and they can thank the Tennessee Titans for helping them finally getting their first victory this season.
Maurice Jones-Drew and Jordan Todman each ran for a touchdown, and the Jaguars held off the Titans 29-27 Sunday, leaving Tampa Bay at 0-8 as the only winless team left. The Buccaneers play on Monday night.
The Jaguars (1-8) scored the most points in a game this season for first-year coach Gus Bradley. They never trailed and forced four turnovers they turned into 17 points.
The Titans scored twice in the final 4:15, the last on a 14-yard TD pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick to Delanie Walker with 40 seconds left. But Johnathan Cyprien recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.
On a day the Titans (4-5) held a moment of silence for late owner Bud Adams, they got caught looking ahead to Thursday night's AFC South game with division leader Indianapolis. The Titans also lost Jake Locker to an injured right foot that had him on crutches and in a walking boot in the second half.
The Titans were coming off an emotional win over their former coach Jeff Fisher in St. Louis, and they looked flat from the start when even Adams' family was late to the stadium and a news conference introducing the owners scratched before kickoff.
The Jaguars took advantage despite being outgained 214-362 in total offense. Chad Henne threw for 180 yards.
Outscored 70-15 in the first quarter of the first eight games combined, the Jaguars jumped out to a 13-0 lead with Paul Posluszny stripping Chris Johnson of his first fumble this season on Tennessee's first offensive play and Dwayne Gratz intercepted a Locker pass.
The first turnover set up Jones-Drew for three straight carries capped by a 6-yard TD run, and Josh Scobee kicked his second field goal, a 44-yarder, after the interception giving the Jaguars' their biggest lead in any game this season at 13-0 early in the second quarter. The Jaguars could have had a bigger lead if not for a shotgun snap bouncing off receiver Ace Sanders as he ran in motion on third down. That forced them to settle for Scobee's first field goal.
Not even Titans coach Mike Munchak seemed ready. He wanted to challenge a 22-yard sideline catch by Cecil Shorts III but threw the flag as the Jaguars snapped the ball.
Locker hurt his right foot in the second quarter at the end of an option keeper. He was so hobbled he couldn't connect with Johnson on a handoff on the next play, and the Jaguars recovered with 6:22 left.
Fitzpatrick replaced Locker, and he threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 4-yard TD with 4:15 left trying to rally the Titans. But after the Titans forced the Jaguars to go three and out, Fitzpatrick was sacked by Jaguars cornerback Will Blackmon, who stripped him of the ball and ran it back 21 yards for a 29-20 lead.
The Jaguars also held the Titans to a pair of field goals by Rob Bironas in the second half. Pat Anger pinned the Titans at their own 1 with a 42-yard punt, and the Jaguars got a safety when rookie right guard Chance Warmack was called for holding Sen'Derrick Marks three plays later. That safety with 7:44 left proved the winning margin.
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