The Jacksonville Jaguars likely don't have a bigger rival than the Tennessee Titans.
That makes the last two years of dominance over the Titans that much more important for the Jaguars. The Titans have long been the biggest thorn in the Jaguars' side throughout franchise history, but not during the Doug Pederson era.
The Jaguars are now 3-0 against the Titans since Pederson was hired, with the most recent battle being a 34-14 win at EverBank Stadium. In three games against the Titans and head coach Mike Vrabel, the Jaguars have averaged 30 points per game and allowed just 17.3.
The results have spoken for themselves. On Monday, so did Vrabel.
"I am confident we are going to fight and we are going to compete. We just didn't win. Jacksonville is a better football team – they're better coached and they have a better team right now," Vrabel said in a press conference the day after the Jaguars' dominant win.
It is a rare omission from a residing head coach, but it does pretty much sum up the Jaguars and Titans over the last two seasons. The teams will meet again in Tennessee in Week 18, but the Titans look like they are in rebuild mode after a stretch of dominance in the AFC South. Now, the Jaguars are next up, along with the Houston Texans.
The Jaguars will next play the Texans in Week 12, with a chance to either give up the division lead or build a two-game cushion entering the final two months of the season.
“It’s game 11, but they’re always big. Anytime you’re playing your division, they’re all big games," Pederson said on Monday.
"Obviously, we understand what this team did to us a few weeks back. It is another game on the schedule, a lot of football ahead still. But it’s big, you don’t ever want to go 0-2 against a division foe in any year, obviously. Our guys will respond again, much like they did this week. It’s going to take a good week of prep and their film study and all that, but it’s a great opportunity, it’s going to be loud. They’re playing extremely well, and we are too. It should be a good matchup.”