Titans 31, Jaguars 10: Five observations as Henry rumbles on
The Jaguars expected the Titans to hand off to Derrick Henry religiously on Sunday at Jacksonville. Instead, the Jaguars got a flea flicker.
On the third play of the Titans’ first drive, and after Henry got his first carry for two yards, Henry tossed the ball back to quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw a 37-yard pass to A.J. Brown for a one-handed touchdown catch.
Henry got his share of the ball, too. And when he did, he racked up yards in bunches to help the Titans beat the Jaguars 31-10 at TIAA Bank Field.
The NFL’S leading rusher had 215 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries against the Jaguars (1-2), helping the Titans (9-4) maintain their lead in the AFC South.
Here are five things we learned from the Titans win on Sunday:
Derrick Henry racks up yards in chunks
Henry, who now has an Nfl-best 1,532 yards, scored his first rushing touchdown in the third quarter and in the process passed Chris Johnson for the third-most touchdowns in franchise history (50).
Henry modestly ran for 15 yards on four carries in the first quarter. He boosted his total to 122 yards from 15 rushes by halftime, thanks to a big gain of 22 just before the two-minute warning and then bouncing outside for a 32yard touchdown.
A.J. Brown bounces back
Brown fumbled twice last week in the Titans’ 41-35 loss to the Browns.on Sunday, he caught seven passes for 112 yards to go along with his one touchdown.
The right-handed catch for the score in the first quarter wasn’t Brown’s only challenging snag. He had three 13-yard grabs followed by one for 17 yards in coverage.
Titans secondary absences ineffective
The Titans defense was without safety Kenny Vaccaro (illness) and cornerbacks Breon Borders (hip, injured reserve) and Adoree’ Jackson (knee). On Sunday, cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Tye Smith stepped up in their absence.
Jacksonville wide receivers Keelan Cole Sr. and Laviska Shenault Jr. were held to a combined 13 receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown. Butler picked off Mike Glennon for his third interception of the season.
Glennon’s minimal impact led to the Jaguars replacing him with Gardner Minshew midway through the third quarter.
Glennon was 13-for-23 for 85 yards. Minshew finished 18-for-31 for 178 yards and one touchdown.
The Titans defense held the Jaguars to 5-for-14 on third down.
A fast start pays dividends
Sunday’s start was the polar opposite for the Titans, compared to last week against the Browns.
Baker Mayfield threw four touchdowns against the Titans. After Glennon completed his first six passes for 59 yards, the Jaguars’ pass offense was controlled.
It allowed for the Titans to have a comfortable 17-3 lead at halftime.
Another winning season
The Titans clinched their fifth straight winning season.
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