ClutchPoints
It has been a whirlwind season of smiles for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Meanwhile, the jury is still out for Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward. These teams finish their regular season in Week 18, and here are bold predictions for the AFC South division clash.
The Titans hobble in with a record of 3-13, despite having won two of their last four games. As for the playoff-bound Jaguars, they are 12-4 with an impressive seven-game winning streak.
Let’s take a look at what to expect.
It would be only the second time all season that Ward has thrown for that many yards in back-to-back games. But despite the detractors, he has been better of late. Over the last four games, he has eight touchdown passes with only one interception.
However, he’s coming off a game where he completed only 21 of 40 passes for 52.5%. And his season completion percentage is 59.6. He has 15 touchdown passes and has protected the ball in the air well, with only seven picks. Still, he has 11 fumbles on the season.
Despite the uneven numbers, some executives still support him as a potentially good NFL quarterback, according to The Athletic. They see through the numbers to the amount of time Ward has had in the pocket.
“He’s running for his life most of the time,” the executive said. “His offensive line is terrible. You grade when things are done right, as much as you can. Throw out the negative plays when they aren’t his fault. Take some of those, too, to see where he can learn and fix things. You look for the flashes, and then hope they can really push it into next year.”
And Ward still has been able to make plays in bad situations.
“The great equalizer is his ability to scramble and make plays,” an executive said. “Who knows if he’ll ever be strong on schedule. It’s hard to know how much it’s sustainable to make plays off schedule outside of the offense.”
He’s only accomplished that one time this season. It came in his crazy five-touchdown day against the hapless Jets. The Titans are better on defense, and Lawrence won’t have five TD passes. But he should have a big yardage day.
Tennessee ranks No. 22 in the NFL against the pass. They are No. 17 against the run, which isn’t a ton better. But look for the Jaguars to try to mold Lawrence into a great mindset heading into the playoffs with a pass-happy approach.
The new coaching staff has already helped him a lot, according to Sports Illustrated.
“Yeah, with a new staff, a new system, and a little bit of a new schedule, and the preparation, you try to keep it as similar as possible to what you’re used to and what my routine has been in the past,” Lawrence said. “But it has...
