It’s the battle of the bunglers as Gus Bradley leads his Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) to Nashville to take on Mike Mularkey’s Tennessee Titans (3-4).
The Game: Jacksonville at Tennessee (-3)
The History
This will be the 43rd meeting all time between the two teams. The Titans lead the series 24-19 and have won three of the last five match ups, including four games as the Houston Oilers and four as the Tennessee Oilers.
The Titans hold the longest win streak in the series, winning five in a row over the Jaguars twice from Dec. 1998 to Oct. 2000 (including a 33-14 win in the 2000 AFC Championship) and from Nov. 2001 to Nov. 2003. The longest Jags win streak was four games from Dec. 1996 to Sept. 1998.
The Jaguars are Gus Bradley’s first, and surely last, NFL head coaching job. He is 14-40 with a win percentage of .259, the worst winning percentage of the modern NFL era and the second worst in the entire history of professional football behind a guy named Bert Bell who coached the Philadelphia Eagles form 1936-1941.
Mike Mularkey is the second worst active coach in the NFL with a record of 21-43 and winning percentage of .328. Mularkey is the eighth worst coach of the modern era behind Bradley, David Shula (19-52 with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992-1996), Dave McGinnis (17-40 with the Arizona Cardinals from 2000-2003), Joe Bugel (24-56 with the Phoenix Cardinals from 1990-1993 and with the Oakland Raiders in 1997), Marion Campbell (34-80 with the Atlanta Falcons twice from 1974-1976 and 1987-1989 with a stint with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1983-1985 in between)m Darryl Rogers (18-40 with the Detroit Lions from 1985-1988) and Mike Nolan (18-37 with the San Francisco 49ers from 2005-2008).
The Jaguars on Offense
This is a talented group of players hampered by horrible coaching and playcalling from the top. The rumbles first started about two weeks ago, questioning whether quarterback Blake Bortles is somehow the problem in Jacksonville. The answer is probably “no,” but until this team puts a legitimate NFL head coach in charge, we may never really find out. Look at what happened with Sam Bradford in Minnesota. Don’t watch a QB you drafted high take another team to the playoffs, Jags. Fire Gus Bradley and really see what you have.
The Titans on Offense
Again, just look at the talent in this line up and how its consistently squandered through horrific coaching. Unlike Jacksonville, who can see a real path away from Bradley at the end of the season, I don’t believe the Titans will fire Mike Mularkey after Tennessee misses the playoffs again. They’ll give him another year to waste Marcus Mariota, DeMarco Murray and Delanie Walker.
The Jaguars on Defense
The Jags defense is filled with high draft picks and underrated talent. Telvin Smith is probably one of the three best 4-3 outside linebackers in the league. Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler Jr are both emerging stars. They’re solid all over it shows up on paper. The Jags are the No. 5 defense in the league right now. But with Bradley at the helm, what does that get them?
The Titans on Defense
While the Titans aren’t putting up Jacksonville’s defensive numbers, this is a sturdy unit currently ranked No. 14 in the league. Tennessee has players flying under the radar all over like sixth-year defensive end/tackle Jurrell Casey, who has 16 tackles and three sacks this season, Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo are both solid, pass-rushing 3-4 outside linebackers and have combined for 11.5 sacks in just six games.
The Coaches
History will be made as the two worst head coaches in the NFL face off against each other for the third time. It will be the rubber match for the two losers as Bradley’s Jags won 19-13 over Mularkey’s Titans on Nov. 19 last season, but Mularkey got his revenge with a 42-39 win over Jacksonville on Dec. 6. At the end of this game one of these two nincompoops will have a winning record against another NFL head coach after multiple games for the first time in his career. God. They are awful. Push.
The Pick
If you are a fan of either of these teams, then you should be rooting for your squad to lose. That’s the only way you can guarantee these two turd-blossom coaches get kicked out of the league for good. As it is, the Titans are at home and that’s probably worth the three points. Congratulations, Jacksonville fans. You might wake up Friday morning with a new head coach. Titans 24, Jaguars 21
Last Week
Straight up: 9-5-1
Against the spread: 6-8
Season
Straight up: 55-51-1
Against the spread: 48-58
