Trevor Lawrence had every chance to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars into the playoffs for a second straight year as the AFC South champions. He wound up stopped short of the goalline with 7:13 left, and he also turned the ball over on downs with 1:47 left as the Tennessee Titans eliminated the Jaguars from the playoff hunt in the final Sunday of the regular season.
The Jaguars (9-8) came in needing a win to clinch a second straight AFC South title for their first back-to-back crowns since 1998 and 1999. Their 28-20 loss makes Houston the division champs, costing the Jaguars their only way into the postseason after Pittsburgh also won on Saturday.
Jacksonville controlled their fate after starting 8-3 but finished losing five of six. Lawrence, who returned after missing last week with a sprained shoulder, was intercepted twice on Sunday. The Jaguars also turned the ball over on downs three times – twice in the final seven minutes.
Lawrence tried to rally the Jaguars from a 15-point deficit with a 14-yard TD pass to Evan Engram at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Titans, with the NFL’s stingiest defence inside their 20, stopped Lawrence a foot short as he tried to reach the ball to the goalline on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
The Jaguars had one final chance, getting the ball back with 2:18 remaining and no timeouts left. Lawrence’s deep pass went off Calvin Ridley’s fingertips, then Lawrence threw incomplete on the next two downs with the last nowhere close to Engram.
Tennessee’s win makes the Texans the AFC South champs and the No 4 seed. They will host No 5 seed Cleveland in the wildcard round. Pittsburgh and Buffalo both clinched playoff berths with Jacksonville eliminated.
Left for dead in mid-December, the Steelers are heading back to the playoffs anyway. Pittsburgh clinched a wildcard spot when Tennessee upset Jacksonville, giving the Steelers a playoff berth that seemed unlikely following a three-game skid that included losses to lowly Arizona and New England. Pittsburgh bounced back to finish the season with a three-game winning streak, culminating in a victory over rival Baltimore in Week 18. Pittsburgh haven’t won a postseason game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round in 2016.
