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Titans still alive for playoff berth
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Titans WR Corey Davis leaps toward the crowd after scoring the winning TD against the Jets on Sunday.
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Titans QB Marcus Mariota uses a stiff arm in an effort to elude Jets LB Darron Lee on Sunday. - photo by James Clark

The Tennessee Titans have been a shining example of inconsistency.


The Titans have been radiant in wins against the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, both Super Bowl participants last year, and they’ve smelled like a dead llama in ugly losses to Buffalo, Baltimore and Houston.


Sunday against the Jets, fans got to see both. The Titans looked lifeless in falling behind 16-0, before finally showing some spunk to capture a 26-22 win on a Corey Davis TD in the final minute. 


The Titans (6-6) have their second home game in four days when the once-mighty Jags come to Nashville for a matchup on Thursday Night Football. When these teams met in September, there wasn’t a TD scored as the Titans claimed a 9-6 victory.


Tennessee has won three straight in this series and has held the Jags without an offensive TD in the last two meetings.


The Jags are coming off a 6-0 win over Indianapolis in the first start for QB Cody Kessler. All signs are Kessler will be under center again Thursday in place of the benched Blake Bortles.


One edge for the Jags is bruising RB Leonard Fournette will be one of the few regulars not forced to play on three days of rest. Fournette missed Sunday’s win against the Colts while serving a one-game suspension for fighting so he won’t be hampered by the quick turnaround.


Both teams boast top 10 defenses and bottom 10 offenses. Despite the Titans desire to run the ball, the team is ranked 17th in rushing offense and is almost dead last in passing offense, ranked 29th in the NFL.


The Jags (4-8) won’t be making the playoffs, but there’s still a chance for the Titans who are just one game behind Baltimore (7-5) for the final AFC wildcard spot.


If the Titans are looking to run the table and win their last four, they couldn’t have asked for a much better schedule. None of their last four opponents have a winning record. After Jacksonville Thursday, they play at the Giants (4-8) before finishing with home games against the injury-riddled Redskins (6-6) and Colts (6-6). The Titans are 4-1 at home.


The Ravens are trying to hang on to the final playoff spot, but still must face the Chiefs (10-2) and Chargers (9-3) on the road, and play host to the up-and-down Bucs (5-7) and youthful Browns (4-7-1) at home.


The Titans are tied at 6-6 with three other teams – Dolphins, Colts and Broncos.


The Dolphins still have games against tough opponents like the Patriots and Vikings. The Colts still have to play the Texans and Cowboys.


The Broncos have an extremely favorable schedule that includes two teams at 2-10, the 49ers and Raiders.