The Jacksonville Jaguars enter their road matchup against the Tennessee Titans as 10.5-point favorites. 

The Jaguars are rolling at 6-2 and have been dominating their opponents all season. Jacksonville has four wins by at least 23 points this year. No other team in the league has more than one such victory. 

The Titans, on the other hand, are in last place in the AFC South with a 1-7 record and have (again) started to rebuild for the future. 

Gone are star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who is one of the best defensive players in the entire league, and safety Amani Hooker, who leads the NFL with five interceptions. 

Both were traded before the NFL’s trade deadline this past Tuesday. Trading Simmons netted the Titans two first-round picks from the Chicago Bears, while trading Hooker (and a fifth-rounder) to the Buffalo Bills brought back a second-round pick. 

On paper, this game looks like a mismatch. Jacksonville is one of the NFL’s elite teams, while Tennessee is one of the worst. In addition to Simmons and Hooker, the Titans will also be without five injured starters on Sunday, including top rookies WR Carnell Tate and LB Anthony Hill Jr.

However, it is still a divisional matchup, which is always tough no matter each team’s record. Not taking Tennessee lightly was the first of my five keys to a Jaguars victory. 

If Jacksonville remains as focused on the Titans as it was on the Colts and Ravens in the past two weeks, this one could get ugly quickly. 

If the Jaguars get caught looking ahead to next week’s road tilt against the first-place New York Giants, Jacksonville could fall victim to a huge upset. 

Don’t bet on that happening. 

Jacksonville’s high-powered offense will be going against a Tennessee defense that ranks 31st in both total yards and passing yards allowed. The Titans give up about 382 yards per game, 258 of which come through the air. 

Their run defense gives up about 124 yards per game, which is still only 22nd in the NFL. Tennessee gives up 24.9 points per game, which ranks 23rd. 

Those numbers were all with Simmons and Hooker. 

Jacksonville’s offense, meanwhile, is averaging about 346 yards per game, and its average of 28.6 points per contest is the fourth-most in the league. 

Trevor Lawrence and Co. should have a field day. 

Defensively, the Jaguars give up only 15.1 points per game, the second-fewest in the league. Their run defense ranks fifth at about 89 yards per game. That is after the Jaguars gave up 172 rushing yards against Baltimore last week, many of which came during garbage time of Jacksonville’s 33–10 win. 

The Jaguars should be able to dominate for the third week in a row. 

Unless Jacksonville gets caught looking past the Titans, the team should easily improve to 7-2 and continue flexing its muscles as one of the NFL’s top Super Bowl contenders. 

Given the results of Jacksonville’s last two games against inferior opponents, I don’t expect the Jaguars to fall victim to a trap game. 

Prediction: Jaguars 38, Titans 9