(Jacksonville) Josh Allen returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown with 2:51 to go and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 on Saturday night.
With the win, the Jaguars secured the AFC Southern Division title for the first time in five years.
Rayshawn Jenkins forced a fumble from Titans quarterback Josh Dobbs and Allen recovered the ball to head into the end zone untouched by a rival. He allowed the Jaguars to take the lead in this game without a future for both teams.
Dobbs fumbled the ball on the next possession and the Jaguars (9-8) began celebrating the most significant season win in team history.
“It was the kind of game where our defense had to win for us,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. In attack, we were a bit frustrated because we left a lot of things on the pitch. But in these matches, you just have to win. Our defense got us high today. She played very well. »
The Jaguars will be seeded fourth in the All-America and will host the Los Angeles Chargers or Baltimore Ravens in the first round of playoffs next week.
This is the 18e times in the past 20 seasons that at least one NFL team has won its division after finishing last or tied for last the year before.
The Jaguars finished the season with five straight wins and became the fifth team in NFL history to make the playoffs after posting a five-game losing streak and a five-game winning streak in the same campaign.
“We just kept believing it,” Lawrence said. No one has lost faith. Everyone believed in each of us. We never started pointing fingers. We have lost five games in a row and that has united us. »
The Titans (7-10) have lost their last seven games of the season. That streak made them the underdogs in Saturday’s clash.
Last week, the Titans rested several starters to ensure they were healthy for the duel against the Jaguars. They looked set to pull off the unlikely until Dobbs’ turnover swung the game upside down.
With quarterback Ryan Tannehill sidelined for the rest of the season with an ankle injury, the Titans wanted Dobbs to be smart on the ball and Derrick Henry to get the tough yards. They’ve also relied on a defense that’s been solid against the run all season.
It worked for 37 minutes and then everything fell apart.
Henry made 30 carries for 109 yards. Dobbs completed 20 of 29 passes for 179 yards, including a touchdown pass, an interception and a fumble.
Lawrence had 20 of 32 attempts from the air caught for 212 yards, including a touchdown pass and a fumble. Lawrence saw his passes in the end zone go incomplete in the second half.