Tennessee Titans ^[1] (3-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2)
Monday, October 18th, 2010 • 7:30pm CDT • EverBank Field • Jacksonville, FL • TV: ESPN

Nashville, TN — After enjoying a hard-earned victory last week over the Dallas Cowboys, the Tennessee Titans (3-2) take to the road for a crucial divisional bout with the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) on Monday Night Football. Kickoff at EverBank Field (capacity 67,246) is scheduled for 7:30pm CDT on Monday, October 18th.

The first of two annual Titans-Jaguars matchups looms large in the AFC South standings. After five weeks, the Titans, Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans are all tied with 3-2 records.

The Titans will not play another divisional contest this season until they play five of their last six games against AFC South foes, beginning November 28th at Houston.

The Broadcast

ESPN will broadcast the game to a national television audience. In the Nashville market, the game can be seen on WKRN News 2. Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties, while Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden will provide color commentary.

The Titans Radio Network, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will broadcast the game across the Mid-South with the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith, color commentator Frank Wycheck, sideline reporter Cody Allison and gameday host Larry Stone.

Westwood One Radio Sports will carry the national radio broadcast. Kevin Harlan (play-byplay), Randy Cross (color commentary) and Tony Boselli (sidelines) will provide the call.

The game can be heard locally on 1400 AM, WJZM ^[2].

Last Week

Last week against the Cowboys, rookie Marc Mariani’s 73-yard kickoff return helped set up Chris Johnson’s second touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which gave the Titans a 34-27 victory. Johnson totaled 131 yards on 19 carries to notch his 19th 100-yard rushing performance in 36 career games. He has 100 or more rushing yards in seven consecutive road contests, and with 485 rushing yards in 2010, last year’s rushing king ranks second in the NFL behind Houston’s Arian Foster (562).

Vince Young, who completed touchdown passes to Nate Washington and Kenny Britt against the Cowboys, totaled 173 passing yards and did not throw an interception for the third consecutive game. His passer rating of 95.1 ranks 10th in the NFL in 2010.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s defense notched six sacks and three interceptions against a potent Cowboys offense. The Titans recorded six sacks in consecutive games (they also recorded six sacks against Denver on October 3rd) for the first time since 1982, and they lead the NFL with 22 sacks in 2010. Jason Babin ranks first on the team and fifth in the NFL with a career-high 5.5 sacks this season.

The Jaguars, who visited Buffalo last week, rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half to beat the Bills by a score of 36-26. Quarterback David Garrard passed for three touchdowns, including two scoring strikes to tight end Marcedes Lewis, and Josh Scobee made five field goals in the Jaguars’ second consecutive win. They have victories this season over the Bills, Colts and Denver Broncos, and they have lost to the San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Titans Return To Monday Night

This is the Titans’ only appearance on Monday Night Football in 2010. They have won two consecutive games on Monday night, both against divisional opponents—a 31-21 victory over the Colts in 2008 (October 27th) and a 20-17 win at Houston in 2009 (November 23rd). All-time, the Titans are 19-16 in Monday night games, including an 8-6 record under head coach Jeff Fisher. The only other Monday night game between the Titans and Jaguars occurred on October 16th, 2000 in Jacksonville, a game the Titans won 27-13.

The Jaguars are 7-5 all-time on Monday night, including a 6-2 mark at EverBank Field.

Titans-Jaguars Series At A Glance

• Overall series (regular & postseason): Titans lead 18-13
• Regular Season Series: Titans lead 17-13
• Postseason Series: Titans lead 1-0
• Current streak: One win by Titans
• Titans at home vs. Jaguars: 8-7
• Titans on the road vs. Jaguars: 10-6
• Last Time at LP Field: Jaguars 13 at Titans 30 (11/1/09)
• Last Time at EverBank Field: Titans 17 at Jaguars 37 (10/4/09)
• First Time: Oilers 10 at Jaguars 3 (9/3/95)
• Jeff Fisher’s Record vs. Jaguars: 18-13
• Jack Del Rio’s Record vs. Titans: 6-8
• Jeff Fisher’s Record vs. Jack Del Rio: 8-6

What To Look For This Week

• With six sacks, the Titans would have three consecutive games with six or more sacks for the first time in franchise history. They have six sacks in two consecutive games for the first time since 1982.
• K Rob Bironas has a current streak of 15 consecutive games with at least one field goal, the second-longest streak in team history. Bironas holds the club record with a field goal in 19 consecutive games from 2006-07.
• WR Kenny Britt can record a touchdown reception in four consecutive games for the first time in his career. If he succeeds, he will become one of just nine players in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
• RB Chris Johnson will attempt to record his 20th career 100-yard rushing game and his fourth of 2010.
• RB Chris Johnson (29 career rushing touchdowns) needs one touchdown run to break a tie with Lorenzo White for fourth place on the team’s all-time rushing touchdowns list.
• With a passer rating of 90.0 or greater, QB Vince Young will, for the first time in his career, have a 90-plus passer rating in four consecutive games.

Titans-Jaguars Series History

The Jaguars are the Titans’ longest-standing division rival. The clubs have met at least twice each year since Jacksonville began play as an expansion franchise in 1995. For the first seven seasons of the 16-year rivalry they played in the AFC Central and for the last nine years they have been members of the AFC South. The teams have met a total of 31 times, with the Titans holding an 18-13 advantage.

The majority of Titans-Jaguars contests have been highly competitive. Overall, 18 of the 31 Titans-Jaguars meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer.

In 2009, the teams split their two contests. In Week 4 (October 4th) at Jacksonville, Jaguars quarterback David Garrard passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-17 victory.

In the rematch November 1st at LP Field, Chris Johnson set a franchise record with 228 rushing yards in a 30-13 Titans victory. The latter win was the Titans’ first of the season after starting the 2009 campaign 0-6.

The Titans have posted two separate five-game winning streaks against the Jaguars, dating from 1998-00 and 2001-03. Jacksonville’s longest winning streak in the series was a four-game run from 1996-98.

The stakes of the rivalry were never higher than in 1999, when the Titans and Jaguars met three times, including the AFC Championship Game in Jacksonville. Steve McNair rushed for two touchdowns and Derrick Mason returned a kickoff 80 yards as the Titans earned their first Super Bowl berth with a 33-14 win. Tennessee went on to Super Bowl XXXIV and eventuall fell at the hands of the St. Louis Rams, 23-16.

The Jaguars played their first game in franchise history against the then-Houston Oilers on September 3rd, 1995. Playing in Jacksonville, the Oilers won the game by a 10-3 final score.