To stay alive in the playoff picture the Tennessee Titans needed to win their last two games, and watch a complex set of dominoes fall into place. Getting that first win would not be an easy task with the Jacksonville Jaguars tough defense intent on playing the role of Grinch, and Maurice Jones-Drew poised to run over the defense like a reindeer over grandma.

The Titans never trailed in this game and looked better prepared from the beginning. Jacksonville's offense struggled early and didn't convert a first down until 3:10 remained in the first quarter. The Titans offense relied heavily on passing, using the run only to keep the Jaguars off balance and to use up the clock near the end of the game. The perception that the Jacksonville defense was strong against the run and weak against the pass proved to be true, as Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck threw for 350 yards. TE Jared Cook had a phenomenal day with eight catches for 169 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown catch where he just left the defense in his wake.

The Titans defense did a good job on the dangerous Jones-Drew. He ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, but they held him to only one run of over 20 yards, and stopped him for a loss four times.

The other major factor in this game was field position. Brett Kern did a masterful job of punting, and the kick coverage teams kept the Jaguars pinned in their own end. The Titans were able to start their drives with better field position, largely because none of Marc Mariani's kick and punt returns were called back because of penalties.

So now the Titans have completed one necessary step, they've defeated the Jaguars. The Jets' loss Sunday also helps their playoff chances. The playoffs are almost in reach, but the Houston Texans (and other complex mathematical formulas) still stand in their way.

Stars of the Game
Offfense: Jared Cook
Cookie had a huge day. He caught all eight passes thrown his way to pick up 169 yards and a touchdown. When Matt Hasselbeck needed a big play, he went to Jared.

Defense: Derrick Morgan
He had seven tackles including one for loss on Jones-Drew, a pass defended, and a quarterback hurry.

Special Teams: Patrick Bailey
Bailey was signed for his kick/punt coverage ability and he had three special teams tackles, keeping Jacksonville from having good starting position.

Difference Maker: Michael Griffin
The big defensive play of the day was his interception in the end zone when the Jaguars were threatening to score.

Unsung Hero: Rob Bironas
A pair of 50-plus yard field goals were the margin of victory.

Stats of the Game
0 Penalties by the Titans 5 Tackles for loss by the Titans (4 on Jones Drew) 9 Consecutive games in which Rob Bironas has hit a field goal of 40+ yards

Locker Room Quotes
LB Akeem Ayers
on Maurice Jones-Drew: "He's got a nice size for a back. He's a smaller back, but at the same time he's a physical runner, especially when he's running downhill. He does that good. He gets the ball, he can put the team on his back and run it every play."
on the success of the defense against MJD:: "We did what we talked about. We talked about gang tackling, and we talked about everybody just doing their job and just playing as a team and just getting to the ball and flying around."
on the overall performance of the defense: "Overall we did a good job. Of course there were some mistakes here or there, things a little bit we could have done better, overall I thing we did a pretty good job. We pretty much stuck to what we said we wanted to do earlier in the week."

DT Jurrell Casey
on stopping Jones-Drew: "We knew we had to get to him, and that's what we did today. We had great guys out there who were ready to gang tackle and we just came out and were physical, and we knew they war going to pound the ball at us today."
on why it's hard to bring MJD down: "He's got a low center of gravity. He's a smaller guy, so he ain't going to meet your pads. If try to you go up there and tackle him by yourself it's tough to get him down."

LB Tim Shaw
on kick coverage: "Rob [Bironas] hung the ball up there for us and we had a good plan to go cover it and we had guys who were being aggressive, that's what it takes. They're one of the best kick return teams in the league, so I'm proud of the way our guys covered today."
on punts: "Again it starts with Brett [Kern] putting the ball there and our guys went after it and got it. At the end of the day it's about attitude; if I beat my guy and we all beat our guys it's a good game for us."

DT Karl Klug
on sack of Blaine Gabbert: "That was a coverage sack, that was good."
on the defense against Jones-Drew: "He still had 100 yards, but I think we contained him as best we could."
on the win: "We stay alive for next week. Playoff chances are still alive for us, that's all you can ask for."

Marc Mariani:
on how field position factored into the game: "We know the Jags are a running and grinding team. We know our possessions would be limited. We knew the field position is a huge part of this battle when we play them whenever you play them. Te be able to do what we wanted to do in the game plan we needed decent field position, don't want bad spots starting drives, we put a good plan together and the special teams went out with a few new faces and executed and overall I'm happy. Standing back there in the punts I was as comfortable as ever, so I think as a unit we are getting better every week. We're out there trying to make plays."
on no penalties on returns: "How about that. That is huge. I didn't even think of that until just now. Like I say, we're getting better. We've got guys working hard out there, obviously doing things right. Even though it's Week 16 we're still trying to get better. It's a building block towards next week when we have another battle."

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-- CHARLIY NASH
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