Jets and Titans Finish Week 15: MNF Preview and Result

New York Visits Tennessee On the Last Monday Night Football of 2012

Considering all the problems they’ve had on and off the field, it seems amazing that the New York Jets can make it into the playoffs. But they’ve now beaten Arizona and Jacksonville in consecutive weeks, and they can grab that sixth and final seed in the AFC, if (and that’s a big if) they continue to win.

The Titans now resemble the Cardinals and Jaguars: they’re ripe for the Jets to beat. Tennessee has lost three in a row and five of their last six, and they’re a mess on both offense and defense. Even running back Chris Johnson has had only 3.3 yards per carry, and that’s simply not up to an elite standard.

So while Tennessee is not expected to put up much of a fight, it’s up to Gang Green to take advantage of the opportunity. Mark Sanchez is still struggling mightily as the starting quarterback. They really need help on offense, so they signed receiver and former Jet Braylon Edwards last week.

Sanchez still has to get the ball to him, and there’s no guarantee that will happen consistently: he’s completed 22 passes in 40 attempts for a paltry 208 yards in those two wins. The only touchdown pass New York had in those wins was thrown by third-string pivot Greg McIlroy. This likely means that the Jets will lean on the ground game to keep the ball moving, so that places the burden on the shoulders of Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell as well as the offensive line.

By comparison to the Titans, though, the Jets have a bounty of riches. Quarterback Jake Locker has returned to the lineup only to throw seven interceptions in the last three games. They also have to make do without their second-leading receiver, tight end Jared Cook, for the rest of the season after tearing a rotator cuff last week.

As for the trends, the Jets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games and 5-2 ATS versus AFC opponents, whereas the Titans are only 1-4 ATS against the AFC and 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games. The Over trends more heavily for the Jets — 19-7 in their last 26 road games and 10-4 on grass — while the Under works for the Titans: 4-1 on grass, 4-1 versus the AFC and 7-3-1 at home. It’s also worth noting that the Jets are 6-0 ATS in their last six games against the Titans, and 4-0 ATS in Nashville. Between Tuesday and Friday, the line contracted slightly from 2.0 to 1.5 points in favor of Tennessee.

Prediction: Jets 27, Titans 20.

RESULT: Johnson went on a 94-yard TD run — the NFL’s longest since 2006 — while Sanchez had five turnovers as the Jets were eliminated from the playoffs in a 14-10 loss to the Titans.