A glance at all the betting information you need to know and advice for Jags versus Titans on Thursday Night Football.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-4.5)
Moneyline: Jaguars +190, Titans -220
Betting Total: 37 points
Time (Eastern), TV: 8:20 p.m., FOX
A hard-fought, low-scoring battle is expected when the Jacksonville Jaguars meet the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Thursday night. These teams profile similarly, but the underdog may have a leg-up in this one.
Cody Kessler was merely competent in his first start in lieu of Blake Bortles. Defense won that game against the Colts on Sunday, as they shut out Andrew Luck and the red-hot Colts. However, Kessler should take a step forward with the return of Leonard Fournette to the lineup. The injury-plagued halfback missed Sunday’s game due to suspension. His substitutes this year simply haven’t been up to snuff. While he ran for 95 yards in each of his last two games, T.J. Yeldon and Carlos Hyde accounted for just 62 combined rushing yards against Indianapolis.
The Titans’ defense has proven to be soft against the ground game at times in 2018, ranking 20th in the league with 119.75 rushing yards against per tilt. Over their last three contests, Tennessee has been gouged for an average of 179.66 rushing yards. In contrast to the Titans’ recent shortcomings against opposing running backs, the Jaguars have been resilient against the run of late, allowing 81 or fewer rushing yards in three of their last four outings.
Tennessee’s offense has looked lost since their shocking 34-10 upset victory over the Patriots on Nov. 11. Marcus Mariota and company were lucky that the Jets let them back into the game late to avoid losing outright as 10-point home favorites on Sunday. Jalen Ramsey and the Jags secondary present a much sterner test for Mariota this Thursday. The Titans were just 1-for-11 on third down against New York and will now face the league’s sixth-best third down defense (36 percent conversion rate).
Turnovers have been killing the hot-and-cold Titans in recent contests. They haven’t won the turnover battle in a game since Oct. 14, and are minus-4 in those six tilts since. Jacksonville has cleaned up their act to some extent, posting a plus-2 differential over their last five contests.
Home teams have won the last five Thursday night showcase games, but the Titans are 1-4 against the spread in their last five Thursday appearances. In a game where points could be precious, taking the 4.5 with the Jags looks like the way to go.
Prediction: Jaguars win, 20-13
The play: Jaguars +4.5
