Rashad Greene returned a punt 63 yards, setting up Blake Bortles’ 5-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas with 3:30 remaining, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 19-13 on Thursday night.
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Jacksonville has already dropped games to both teams, so tiebreaker scenarios are already working against the Jags, but the fact that they’re within striking distance (even if either or both the Colts and Texans win) seems awesome.
But with five seconds left and the ball on the 23-yard line, Mariota never got a chance to send the ball to end zone.
They (4-6) now boast consecutive wins for the first time since December 2013 and gain ground in the muddled AFC South.
The last time they were favored on the road since 2010 was on November 13, 2011 when they were a three-point choice at Indianapolis and won, 17-3. Despite sitting at 4-6, Jacksonville sits just half a game out of first place in the south. Mularkey was sacked after one season with the Jaguars, a 2-14 campaign in 2012. Two running plays netted 7 yards to the 6-yard line, but Bortles was sacked by linebacker Brian Orakpo for a 9-yard loss.
Another running back, Matt Forte, was one of several key Bears players missing from practice on Thursday, a list that includes receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Eddie Royal and defensive stalwart Pernell McPhee. “That’s kind of a mismatch”.
But the punt return and a lost fumble by tight end Phillip Supernaw on the Titans’ ensuing possession set up a Jacksonville field goal and made it all moot. Its like you ever hear about how humans only use 10% of the brain the good lord gave us?
Tennessee had one last chance. Now, if you’re asking why Dwayne “Fall-down” Gratz and Andre “Windmill” Branch see more playing time than the worthy players below them on the depth chart, I have no freaking clue.
“We don’t have any quitters”, Jaguars cornerback Aaron Colvin said.
You can’t win games against quality opponents when you settle for four field goals in the redzone.
Odrick provided needed penetration as the defense played its first game since standout defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks suffered a season-ending triceps injury against the Ravens. Jacksonville also has three of its next four at home.
“We made a couple mistakes and had some sacks there at the end and that really hurt us”, Walker said. “Any team can win it”.
Both start-worthy options this week, Mariota and Walker face a Jaguars defense giving up the 8th and 12th most points to the quarterback and tight end position, respectively. But they were burned on a Marcus Mariota 22-yard touchdown run.
Mariota ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run the third quarter to give Tennessee a 13-9 lead.
The success that Bortles has enjoyed offensively this season has come from his connections with his wide receivers, most notably Allen Robinson who has 45 catches for 758 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
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Bortles got going a bit on his second drive with a little rhythm but bogged down and settled for a short field goal to tie the game. It was the longest streak in franchise history and the longest current streak in the league. He played sparingly in the previous four games. It was a 13-play drive for 78 yards and 6:50 off the clock after receiving the kickoff so getting only three points was disappointing.
