JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars have won another AFC South title.
The Jaguars completely dismantled the Tennessee Titans with a 41-7 win on Sunday, earning them their first AFC South title since 2022. So, what were the highs and the lows of the win? We break it down below.
The Good Mostly Everything?
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Resubmitted with alternate crop.) Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to throw during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 41-7, capturing the AFC North title. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Genuinely almost everything. The offense mostly moved the ball at will, LeQuint Allen and Bhayshul Tuten make Jeffery Simmons short-circuit, every active wide receiver and tight end caught a pass, and the Jaguars’ defense swarmed and dominated after a rough first drive. The Jaguars took care of buisness just like they were supposed to, and they were never in danger of being in a trap game.
The Bad The First 2 Drives
Jan 4, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) calls the snap count at the line of scrimmage against the Jacksonville Jaguars defense during the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images
There were only two drives in this game where the Jaguars weren’t the clearly superior team: the first posession for each team. The Jaguars allowed a sack, had a holding penalty, another quarterback hit, and a dirted screen on their first drive, going nowhere with the ball. Meanwhile, the Titans got a short field, found an explosive play on 3rd-and-10, and easily scored to make it a 7-0 game. The Jaguars will need a faster start next week against the Bills.
“It was not an ideal start by any means. Simmons kind of Simmon-sed us early on and made a great play. We went backwards on the first drive, which wasn’t ideal,” Jaguars head coach LIam Coen said after the game. “They obviously had a good drive that they put together on us with a critical third down conversion. It’s just the maturity of this team, I think. Nobody flinched. Nobody blinked. They just kind of kept doing their job one play at a time. We talked about championship execution throughout the entire game, and I think after that you saw that.”
The UglyThe CVL Injury
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Cole van Lanen (70) enters the stadium before an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The worst thing to happen in today’s game is clear: the Cole Van Lanen knee injury. Van Lanen left the game in the final quarter after going down with the injury, though he was seen in the locker room post-game without any crutches, brace, or any kind of support. That is generally a good sign for a player who just became the offensive line’s highest-paid player this week.
The Jaguars will obviously be hoping for the best, but that is really the only thing from this game that stood out as a glaring negative. Otherwise, every Jaguars player who got injured returned to the game and the Jaguars didn’t show any glaring issues. And no, it was not a mistake that Van Lanen was still playing. Only eight offensive linemen dressed — at least some starters have to play no matter what.
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