Tonight’s Titans-Jaguars game is a win-and-in situation for playoffs as the winner will be the AFC South champion and secure a home game in the Wild Card Round. But for the Jaguars, the game isn’t necessary a lose-and-out situation.
The Jaguars are the favorites against the Titans and should win given how many injuries the Titans are dealing with along with deploying Joshua Dobbs for his second-ever start. If they somehow lose the game though, there’s still a path for them to get in as long as they get some help.
The Jaguars would need the New England Patriots to lose to the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins to lose to the New York Jets, and the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose to the Cleveland Browns. With all three of those results, the Jaguars will clinch a playoff spot regardless of what happens today.
That parlay of outcomes doesn’t seem too likely though. While the Patriots seem like strong bets to lose to the Bills, the Dolphins-Jets game and Steelers-Browns game is basically a coin flip – both of which favor the teams Jacksonville needs to lose.
Of course, the easiest path for the Jaguars to get into the playoffs is to simply beat the Titans. That’s not only statistically more likely, it would result in a more favorable outcome.
As for the Titans, their epic collapse would be complete with a loss tonight. They started the season 7-3, but have since lost six games in a row. A loss to the Jaguars would see them mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Though with the QB situation the Titans have, it’s hard to imagine them making any noise in the playoffs even if they swung the upset today.
The game will be played at 8:15 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.