Tennessee Titans grades vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Unpacking a blowout loss

The Tennessee Titans turned a promising start into one of their ugliest losses Sunday.

The Titans lost 36-22 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium, losing a third-straight game for the first time since coach Mike Vrabel's first season in 2018. The Jaguars (5-8) scored 29 unanswered points after the first quarter and into the fourth quarter, capitalizing on four Titans turnovers and taking away all opportunities for the Titans to lean on running back Derrick Henry, who finished with 121 yards rushing but had 96 yards in the first quarter alone.

This is the first time the Titans (7-6) have allowed 30 or more points in back-to-back games since Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2021 season and the first game the Titans turned the ball over four or more times since Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills.

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Here is The Tennessean's report card for the Titans' ugly loss to the Jaguars.

Offense: C+

When the offense wasn't turning the ball over, good things happened. Henry cruised to 100 yards in the first half. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was precise and accurate when he had time and led two composed fourth-quarter drives to make things interesting. But three lost fumbles and an interception on a miscommunication between Tannehill and receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine destroyed all the Titans' progress. Pass protection was an issue again, leading to a lost fumble in the first quarter and two derailed drives in the third quarter that led the Jaguars extend their lead.

Take away five or six bad plays and this was one of the Titans' best offensive performances all season. But that's not how football works, unfortunately for offensive coordinator Todd Downing and his bunch.

Defense: D

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tight end Evan Engram both had career days. The Titans didn't sack Lawrence and failed to record a takeaway for the fourth straight game. The Titans' elite run defense stats are becoming misleading, as the Jaguars are the latest in the parade of Titans opponents who show no interest in running the ball when there's so much success to be had throwing. With cornerbacks Kristian Fulton, Tre Avery, Elijah Molden and Caleb Farley all injured or on injured reserve, this was quadruply true Sunday.

Special teams: C+

This could've been a lot worse; the Jaguars had a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown called back because of a holding penalty. Sticking with plays that counted, the special teams were mostly fine, even with injuries to C.J. Board, Hassan Haskins and Dontrell Hilliard limiting what the Titans could do in the return game.

Coaching: C

It's hard to evaluate how much of this loss needs to be credited to coaching. Turnovers and injuries aren't coaching issues, but the inability to generate a pass rush and the difficulty capitalizing on a rushing attack that was working might be. Even considering some conservative play-calling in third quarter, this feels like more of a players' loss than a coaching loss.

Overall: D+

This is a loss unlike any the Titans have ceded this season. The other five were all to would-be playoff teams, and three of them were by eight points. This was a blowout loss at the hands of a division foe with a losing record that's had the No. 1 pick in the draft back-to-back offseasons. This probably wasn't the Titans' worst loss of the year by quality, but it might've been their worst loss in context.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans grades vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Unpacking a blowout