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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars made major waves at the NFL trade deadline, but they still have a game to play on Sunday. The 6-2 Jaguars will visit Nissan Stadium to take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 10, marking their first outing since acquiring Jessie Bates, Jordan Davis, and Davon Godchaux (for a sixth-round pick). Despite their sights set on an AFC South crown and a top playoff seed, the Jaguars are approaching the Titans with the same focus they showed against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens in recent weeks.
So how will this Week 10 matchup unfold? Here are five bold predictions.
Jessie Bates Records an Interception
It remains to be seen whether Jacksonville will deploy any of its new defensive additions against Tennessee, but history suggests they will. Last season, Jakobi Meyers and Greg Newsome each played in their first game with the franchise after joining during the same week, so it's reasonable to expect the trio to make their Jaguars debuts on Sunday. In that scenario, Bates could create his first takeaway right away. Titans quarterback Cam Ward is not the most turnover-prone passer Jacksonville has faced this season—that distinction belongs to Daniel Jones—but Ward is near the league average in interception rate and has made some egregious decisions with the ball over the past two seasons as a starter. This feels like the perfect week for defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile to dial up pressure looks to confuse Ward, and Bates is a natural playmaker. His impact could be immediate.
Parker Washington Catches 2 TDs
The Titans' defense has struggled against slot receivers this season. Tennessee ranks in the bottom five in the NFL against slot targets in yards per play allowed, yards after the catch allowed, yards after the catch over expectation, and average separation. The Titans have been a mess in the slot, even moving long-time outside cornerback Alontae Taylor inside despite signing him in March to play on the outside. As a result, this could be a Parker Washington week. He is the clear No. 1 receiver in the offense, and he should shake off some recent inconsistent moments to have a huge game against Tennessee. Washington is due for a big performance, and it could come this Sunday.
Cam Ward Throws for Fewer Than 150 Yards
There have been 275 quarterback performances this season, and in just 39 of them has a quarterback thrown for fewer than 150 yards. Cam Ward accounts for two of those games, a number trumped only by Bo Nix and Malik Willis—not great company for productive gunslingers. Ward has been more productive and explosive lately and is coming off one of the best games of his career, but the Jaguars are predicted to limit him to under 150 yards. Ward threw for just 141 yards against Jacksonville in Week 13 last year, and the Jaguars held Daniel Jones and Joe Fagnano to a combined 189 yards over the last eight quarters. Jacksonville's pass defense is clicking, largely due to Campanile's work, and that should continue this week.
Jaguars Limit Tony Pollard to Under 4.0 YPC
Titans running back Tony Pollard has been on a tear over the last few weeks. Pollard, who has rushed for 246 yards and five touchdowns over the last two games, broke out of a mid-season skid and has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry in every game but two this season. While Pollard has been one of the NFL's more impressive runners recently, the Jaguars should be ready to bottle him up on Sunday. Again, Davis and Godchaux are expected to play on Sunday. But even if they don't, the Titans may not have the offense to keep Jacksonville off-balance enough to run the ball effectively. Teams can only run on the Jaguars when Jacksonville is threatened by the early-down pass, and Tennessee may not find much success there.
Walker Little Pitches Another Shutout
Jaguars left tackle Walker Little has played really, really well over the last few weeks since stepping into the lineup for an injured Anton Harrison. According to NextGenStats, Little has allowed pressure on just 6.4% of his pass blocks, the fifth-lowest rate in the league among left tackles (minimum 100 pass blocks). On his 109 pass blocks, his 87.2% 1-on-1 matchup rate is the highest in the league among left tackles; his 6.3% 1-on-1 pressure rate allowed is the third-lowest in the league. Experience always helps. Confidence is a heck of a thing, and Little himself said in an interview that humility helped. "Where obviously he became our swing tackle, and all that guy has done is just stay the course," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Wednesday. "Like, never got up, too down. He's just very steady. I really like Walker's play demeanor, the look in his eye recently and not taking everything so seriously. He's able to have fun with it. He's out there playing a game that he loves and competes with, but he's playing at a high level right now. He's got confidence, and you can tell." Little will mostly draw Titans pass-rusher Jacob Martin, who has had a good year. But after strong showings against the Houston Texans' pass-rush duo in London a month ago and then a dominant outing against Trey Hendrickson last week, Little has the edge entering Week 10. He is playing some of the best football of his career right now, and that should lead to another shutout.
John Shipley has been covering the Jacksonville Jaguars as a beat reporter and publisher of Jaguar Report since 2019. Previously, he covered UCF's undefeated season as a beat reporter for NSM.Today, covered high school prep sports in Central Florida, and covered local sports and news for the Palatka Daily News. Follow John Shipley on Twitter at @johnshipley.