JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Doug Pederson saw this coming. No, really.
Pederson first started telling his players they would have a chance to make the postseason in early November, after a five-game losing streak dropped them to 2-6 and left them four games behind the Titans in the loss column.
It seemed comical to some, improbable to most. But they rolled with it, trusted Pederson and ended up in a winner-take-all game against rival Tennessee that will decide the AFC South tonight.
"Coach Pederson said, 'I've got a crystal ball, this thing's going to come down to Week 18 and we're going to have a shot,'" quarterback Trevor Lawrence recalled. "We all jumped on board. We believed it. We kept putting in the work, and we're here now. We knew this was coming."
Pederson made one part clear: he didn't actually hold up a crystal ball as he prophetically stood in front of his team two months ago.
"I just had to make sure that our guys understood that everything was still in front of us," Pederson said. "We had to play one game at a time and just focus on that one week. If we did that, it would give us an opportunity to be in Week 18 for all the marbles."
Now, not only is Jacksonville in position to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but it could prevent a division rival from making the postseason for the second time in as many years. The Jags stunned Indianapolis in the 2021 regular-season finale at TIAA Bank Field.
Knocking out the slumping Titans (7-9) wouldn't be nearly as shocking.
Injury-riddled Tennessee has lost six in a row and will start journeyman Joshua Dobbs at quarterback for the second consecutive week. Jacksonville (8-8), meanwhile, has won four in a row and is a 61/2-point favorite at home.
"The only thing that matters is moving forward," said Titans two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. "And I mean all the games we done lost, all the games we done won, it don't matter. We have to go find a way to beat Jacksonville."
Derrick Henry comes into the game rested after the Titans scratched him last week before a loss to Dallas. The move likely cost Henry a chance at a third NFL rushing title. He ranks third in the league with 1,429 yards -- 19 behind Cleveland's Nick Chubb for second and 179 behind Josh Jacobs of Las Vegas.
Henry traditionally plays well against Jacksonville, a short drive from his hometown of Yulee.
Henry has two 200-yard games and three 100-yard games against the Jaguars. He also tied an NFL record with a 99-yard run in 2018 against the Jaguars.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) leaves the field after an NFL football game between the Tennessee Titans and the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The Dallas Cowboys won 27-13. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (45) celebrates a play against the Houston Texans during the first half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel speakls with line judge Greg Bradley (98) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell (32) celebrates after scoring a touchdown on a fumble recover during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)