Gardner Minshew Leads Jacksonville to Another Win, Jaguars Beat Titans 20-7

Jacksonville Jaguars have defeated the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football with 20-7, posting their first win of the season. For one brief moment, the Jags have improved their situations, moving the spotlight from all the negative and unpleasant stories, which by the way, are dominant in their environment.

The hosts needed something like this, to avoid a 0-3 start which would definitely hurt their hopes of reaching the playoffs. And the main reason for this was the fantastic defense, who harassed the guests from Nashville, especially their quarterback Marcus Mariota. He’s been sacked astonishing nine times losing 55 yards, and suffering a considerable beating.

“When you’re not able to sustain drives and get opportunities in the red zone, it’s hard to score points,” he said, admitting that a lot of problems Titans’ had in the offense was a product of their own mistakes.

Tennessee was penalized 101 yards, for nine illegal actions. The majority was in the first half when the hosts got the lead, and that pretty much affected the flow of the match. Though some of them were not necessary, we need to say. The officials did go too far on some occasions.

It was already 14-0 for Jacksonville after the opening period, with backup QB Gardner Minshew connecting James O’Shaughnessy and DJ Cark in the endzone. After that, it was all routine for the hosts.

“You seen what the D-line did,” Jalen Ramsey said. “Today was their day. Everybody got a piece of it. I was excited to see those guys have a huge game.”

The prolific cornerback didn’t want to speak about his trade request. Ramsey was focused more on the game, praising his teammates and the overall atmosphere at the stadium. The home team’s defensive crew limited Derrick Henry to only 44 rushing yards on 17 carries. He did have one touchdown in the last period, but it was from the one-yard line.

Mariota was 23 of 40 for 304 yards, with a QBR of 28.1. He rushed for 34 yards on 6 occasions and was restrained when it comes to game on the ground, which is his way out of certain tough positions.

Hosts’ quarterback, Minshew, started to look like a regular NFL starter, even though this was only his second start. He collected 204 yards, 20 for 30, for 2 TD, without an interception and without any sack. He became the 1st rookie in Jags’ history with 600+ pass yards after Week 3.

“I feel more confident with each rep I take,” said Minshew.

Jaguars’ coach Doug Marrone praised his youngster who replaced the injured Nick Foles in the season opener against the Chiefs and has been very good ever since.

“It’s good,” Marrone said about Minshew’s games. “I really think it’s good. Actually, it’s remarkable, to be honest with you.”

The receiving corps of the hosts was working ok. Two of the best guys there were DJ Chark had 76 yards on four receptions, Dede Westbrook 46 on five.

Leonard Fournette had 92 yards from the scrimmage, which is nothing special for him, but in the decisive moments, he was doing all the dirty work for his team. His rushing was good with an avg run being over 4 yards (66 on 15 carries).

With the Titans, who had more yards through the air than the rival, Adam Humphries caught the pass six times for 93 yards, while Tajae Sharpe did that twice for 70 yards.

Now, Mike Vrabel’s guys head for Atlanta for another tough challenge. The last two trips there have been unsuccessful. After that, they have the Bills at home.

The same thing goes for the Jaguars and their next rival on the road, the Denver Broncos. Mile High hasn’t been their favorite place to play. After that, they head for North Carolina to meet the Panthers.