Game Preview
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
sunday, november 16, 2008 - 4:15 pm
*Titans put perfect record on line at Jaguars*
Tennessee (9-0) at Jacksonville (4-5), 4:15 pm EST
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars may have saved their season last weekend but they can hardly afford to relax.
The Jaguars will seek revenge and try to prevent history when they host the undefeated Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
It will be a rematch from Week One, when the Titans bottled up Jacksonville's running game en route to a 17-10 victory that set the tone for the season.
More significantly, Tennessee starting quarterback Vince Young injured his knee in that game and later was so distraught by his performance that it led to coach Jeff Fisher inserting Kerry Collins into the starting lineup.
The Titans have not lost since and Collins, a 14-year veteran, has evolved from caretaker of a run-dominated offense to an irreplaceable part.
Collins threw for a season-high 289 yards and two touchdowns on 30-of-41 passing to lift Tennessee to a 21-14 victory over the Chicago Bears - its 12th consecutive regular-season victory.
It was the highest completion total since the 2003 season for Collins, who connected on 10 straight passes at one point.
"Kerry made good decisions," Fisher said. "If you give him time, he'll hit it."
Collins needed to come up big after Tennessee's ground game was brought to a screeching halt by Chicago's defense. Rookie Chris Johnson managed just eight yards on 12 carries and backfield mate LenDale White was limited to 14 yards on 10 rushes.
The Jaguars had similar woes against the Titans in the season opener, when Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor were held to a combined 31 yards on 14 carries.
However, the duo got untracked in last weekend's 38-14 victory over the winless Detroit Lions, helping Jacksonville post its highest scoring total of the season.
Jones-Drew rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries and Taylor added 80 yards on 18 carries.
"Fullbacks, tight ends, receivers were blocking," Jones-Drew said.. "It helped the whole overall game that we were able to run the ball and keep the ball down. When everyone blocks it makes it easy on the runner."
Quarterback David Garrard had his most efficient outing of the season, completing 18-of-25 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns and registering a quarterback rating of 128.4.
The teams split their two meetings in 2007, with each winning on the road.
