The Jacksonville Jaguars will look to get the season sweep against a Tennessee Titans this Sunday. Both teams are looking to avoid the bottom spot in the AFC South and possibly sneak in as a dark-horse playoff pick.
The Jaguars beat the Titans in the first meeting this season in Week 3 by a score of 20-7. The defense stepped up that night as they would collect nine sacks and limited the Titans’ offense to 4.5 yards per play.
Rivalry games are extremely unpredictable as both teams are familiar with each other. These are times where a player who isn’t particularly a household name can step up a catch the opponent off guard.
The Jaguars will look to get some contributions from players who aren’t exactly the main starters to supply a spark and secure the victory against the Titans.
Here are the Jaguars players who could end up being X-factors in Week 12’s game:
WR Chris Conley
Jaguars wide receiver Chris Conley will be counted on to stretch the Titans defense as the team’s third receiver. Jaguars wide receiver Dede Westbrook was listed with an illness earlier in the week and he missed some time as a result.
Should Westbrook’s snaps be limited in any way, the Jaguars should feel confident in knowing that Conley can handle the load. Conley has fared well in his last four games with 15 receptions for 276 yards and a touchdown.
The Titans defense is ranked No. 20 in the NFL in terms of receiving yards allowed. Conley’s game is highly predicated on big plays as he possesses some serious speed and sits at 17.9 yards per reception. This looks like a game where he can be successful based on not only his skill set but also Westbrook’s limited impact (if not 100%) and the Titans’ questionable secondary.
DL Dawuane Smoot
Backup defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot could make an impact again against the Titans.
In their last meeting, Smoot had a total of three tackles but two of those were sacks on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
With a 40% snap count on the season, Smoot doesn’t play a high majority of the defensive snaps but he has been highly efficient with four sacks and ten tackles. One could argue that if he had more playing time, he could get more sacks and total tackles.
The Titans are tied with the Miami Dolphins with the most sacks allowed in the NFL. This could be the game where Smoot gets a couple of sacks once again in a third-down situational pass-rush role.
