The Titans played their cards close to the vest against Dallas, choosing to rest Derrick Henry, Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry among others to give themselves the best shot to win in Jacksonville and claim a playoff berth with a paltry 8-9 record. Let’s examine the keys for Tennessee to pull this off.

First down

Stop the penalties. The Titans had 10 penalties for 124 yards against the Cowboys, and while a few of those were questionable (Monty Rice’s roughing the passer?), some were egregious, and all were harmful. The Titans need to play clean and minimize the penalties if they are going to have any shot at all of winning.

Second down

Win the turnover battle. In the first meeting with Jacksonville, the Titans turned the football over four times. That is a recipe for disaster, no matter who you face. But in the process has breathed life into a virtually dead Jaguars team that, coupled with the Titans nose-dive, is on the doorstep of the postseason. Tennessee has to not only have takeaways to help the offense with a short field, but cannot put the ball in harm’s way, as even Derrick Henry has been prone to a fumble problem of late.

Third down

Keep the energy. Despite playing short-handed, Josh Dobbs’ 232-yard passing effort versus Dallas seemed to bring some energy to the Titans that has been missing for weeks. The Titans need to keep that energy going against the Jaguars and channel it into some big plays on both sides of the football, but especially on offense where those game-changing plays have been far too few.

Fourth down

Don’t give up explosive plays. The Titans defense has had a bad habit of giving up explosive plays, and the Jaguars hurt them badly with big gains in the first meeting. Tennessee must make Trevor Lawrence uncomfortable with the pass rush, and not allow him time to find his receivers downfield as he did in the first game, where he threw for a career-high 367 yards.

-- Terry McCormick