Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) returns a fumble for a touchdown as defensive end Arden Key (49) covers in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — With a scoop and score that will go down in franchise lore, Josh Allen may have put an end to the chaos and disappointment that has defined the Jacksonville Jaguars for the better part of the past decade.
Allen’s 37-yard fumble return with 2:51 remaining helped the Jaguars beat rival Tennessee 20-16 on Saturday night and secure their first AFC South championship since 2017.
“I’m speechless,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said before crediting coach Doug Pederson, general manager Trent Baalke and players. “I’ve always had confidence that we would be getting to where we needed to go.”
Khan easily could have singled out Allen and safety Rayshawn Jenkins, who forced Josh Dobbs’ fumble. Allen picked up the loose ball on a perfect bounce and ran, untouched, the other way for a lead that held up.
Dobbs fumbled again on the ensuing possession, and the Jaguars (9-8) started to celebrate their most significant regular-season victory in history.
“This was one of those games where our defense had to win it for us,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “Us guys on offense, we’re a little frustrated because we left a lot out there. But in these games, just win. Our defense picked us up today. They played great.”
Jacksonville earned the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs and will host either the Los Angeles Chargers or Baltimore in the wild-card round next weekend.
It’s the 18th time in the last 20 seasons that at least one NFL team won its division after finishing last or tied for last the previous year.
Jacksonville closed the regular season with its fifth consecutive victory and became the fifth team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a five-game losing streak and a five-game winning streak in the same season.
“We just kept believing,” Lawrence said. “Nobody ever lost faith. Everybody believed in one another. We never started pointing the finger. We lost five games straight and we just got tighter.”
Tennessee (7-10) lost its final seven games, a skid that had just about everyone writing them off before Saturday’s finale.
“Nobody wants to finish how we did,” Titans running back Derrick Henry said. “That’s never the plan, never the goal. Like I said, stuff happens, adversity happens.
“We wanted to win the division and have a great record, yeah, but it didn’t happen this year. All you can do is go back to work and be thankful for the journey and everybody in their efforts and look forward.”
The Titans rested several starters last week and essentially created a 10-day break to get healthy. They returned to their bruising brand of football and looked like they would pull an improbable turnaround — until Dobbs’ turnover changed the game.
“We just got on a (crappy) streak and couldn’t get off it,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “Couldn’t make the plays when we needed to. We couldn’t be consistent enough when we needed to and it showed up again.”
The Jaguars were 6 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and a near-sellout crowd was on hand to witness what many thought would be more of a coronation than a scratch-and-claw nail-biter.
The Titans didn’t do anything spectacular. With quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle) out for the season, they leaned on Dobbs — an aerospace engineer who has bounced around the league — to be smart with the ball and Henry to grind out tough yards. And they relied on a defense that’s been stout against the run all year.
It worked for 57 minutes — and then it unraveled.
Henry finished with 109 yards on 30 carries. Dobbs completed 20 of 29 passes for 179 yards, with a touchdown, an interception and the fumble.
Lawrence completed 20 of 32 passes for 212 yards, with a touchdown and a fumble. Lawrence had two would-be touchdowns in the second half fall incomplete. He overthrew Zay Jones in the end zone and underthrew Christian Kirk.
Nearly all of the 70,000-plus on hand were waiting for Lawrence to do something down the stretch. Instead, the Jags became the first team since Carolina in 2000 to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback without gaining a first down in the quarter, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
STIFF ARM
Henry added another impressive stiff-arm to his highlight reel filled with them. He tossed Jenkins to the ground in the second quarter to cap a 14-yard gain, setting off a flurry of social media posts about the move.
Henry, who grew up outside Jacksonville in Yulee, finished the first half with 71 yards on the ground, but added just 38 after intermission.
MEMORABLE MOMENT
Both teams gathered at midfield together before the game to pray, some of them still wearing shirts to honor Buffalo’s Demar Hamlin. Tennessee linebacker Rashad Weaver, college teammates with Hamlin at Pitt, wore Hamlin’s No. 3 on his eye black.
Weaver later recovered Lawrence’s fumble on a misguided trick play in the first half.
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