Monday Night Preview: Jags, Titans Clash in Division Showdown

In this league, almost all of the inter-division match-ups are great games and are decided in the last moments of the game. As odd as it may seem, the Titans/Jaguars showdowns are no different.

Both have young(ish) gunslinging quarterbacks under center with Vince Young in Tennessee and David Garrard in Jacksonville. Both have motivated, fiery head coaches in Jeff Fisher and the intense, yet professional Jack Del Rio in J'Ville.

Oh, wait. I almost forgot the teams' most well-known players: Chris Johnson, who became just the sixth player in league history to break 2,000 yards on the ground last season, and the stout 5'7'' Maurice Jones-Drew for the Jags.

Both are considered premier backs in the NFL and can turn a loss of three in to a gain of 85 in an instant.

Of course, according to my "Week Six Picks" article from the other day I have Tennessee coming out on top tonight, creating a three-way tie for first with Indianapolis and Houston. And I stand by my pick today. But, I've decided to add another dimension to this MNF preview.

I have brought in another source to create another opinion on the matchup. That source, as I am calling it, is Whatifsports.com: a simulator which allows any 'plain Joe' to simulate a matchup and get a winner, final score and box score for every simulated game that user runs through.

I noticed the simulator is a week behind (says both teams are  still 2-2), but it'll have to do.

WIS Says......Tennessee 17, Jacksonville 7

I was unable to post a link to the box score, but the truth of the matter is that Tennessee's defense shut down Garrard and the passing game. Tennessee's offense had the only turnover of the game (lost fumble) but Garrard managed just 124 yards through the air with no touchdowns as he completed just 13 of his 23 pass attempts.

Jacksonville's lone score came on a 16-yard run by Rashad Jennings. Tennessee's Vince Young, on the other hand, threw for 288 yards and a touchdown (65-yarder to Justin Gage in second quarter) on 17 completed passes.

Both Johnson and MJD were held to under 100 yards on the ground (65 for C.J. and 62 for Jones-Drew), were held out of the end zone, and caught just two passes each. Both head coaches knew exactly what to expect from their rivals and were able to stop it.

Although, Jeff Fisher did a slightly better job than Jack Del Rio.

Photo Credits
Maurice Jones-Drew: AP Photo/Mike Groll
Kenny Britt: AP Photo/Tim Sharp