Specialty slices: In a grinding game, every play mattered — including those generated by Jags special teams
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Jamal Agnew was confident he could break some big returns against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
After all, he had done it a month ago in Nashville. Agnew took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 93 yards for an apparent touchdown, only to have it called back because of a phantom holding call against Caleb Johnson — which the league admitted in a memo to the Jaguars the following week.
“We scored on them [on special teams] the last time we played them,” he said. “It was a bad call, the league said it was a bad call and we have to live with that. But we also knew we could get them a few times tonight.”
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Titans defenders try to bring down Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jamal Agnew (39) on a 54 yard kick return during second-quarter action.
“No one notices special teams until they notice them,” added safety Andrew Wingard, who plays on the Jags coverage and return teams.
Not only were they noticed — they were sorely needed.
On a night when the offense sputtered and the defense struggled in the first three periods to get the Titans and running back Derrick Henry off the field, the Jaguars’ specialists across the board elevated their game in the 20-16 victory in front of 70,050 at TIAA Bank Field, clinching the AFC South title.
Agnew gave the Jaguars (9-8) a short field on their only touchdown drive of the game with a 54-yard return to midfield in the second quarter, added a 22-yard punt return in the third period and had 158 returns yards in all.
Agnew credited his teammates with opening holes to give him the crease he needed.
“We knew this game was going to be a dogfight, a real smash-mouth game,” Agnew said. “We had to not make mistakes on special teams and also make some impact plays. Our guys blocked their butts off and I just took advantage of the opportunities.”
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Titans coach Mike Vrabel also had a good memory about Agnew’s touchdown that was nullified on Dec. 11 when the Jaguars beat the Titans 36-22. He lamented the fact that his coverage teams didn’t learn from their prior experiences.
“That was one of the keys, special teams, limiting Agnew,” Vrabel said. “Explosive runner … he had a touchdown against us that was called back so we clearly understand how explosive he is. We have to do a better job.”
But the Jags’ special teams had contributions across the board in a game where every play mattered:
Riley Patterson kicked second-half field goals of 26 and 36 yards. Since missing two of three attempts in a 27-17 loss to Kansas City on Nov. 13, Patterson has made 16 of 17 (94.1 percent). Patterson put his first and last kickoff into the end zone for touchbacks, with the second the most crucial — it forced the Titans to start at their own 25-yard line with 2:51 left.
Punter Logan Cooke averaged 51.0 yards on four attempts. The Titans (7-10) best starting point after any of those punts was their own 16 (Chris Claybrooks tripped up Robert Woods at the Jags’ 16 after a 2-yard gain) and the other three punts were downed or fair-caught at the Tennessee 9-, 6- and 10-yard lines. The latter two punts came in the fourth quarter and the Jags forced a three-and-out on one and Josh Allen scored his game-winning touchdown on a fumble return after the other.
Long snapper Ross Matiscik, who has been battling back spasms so severe the last two weeks that the Jags brought in veteran snapper Garrison Sanborn, has somehow gotten ready to play and remains perfect on all punt snaps and placement kick snaps.
The Jags kickoff coverage teams held the Titans to an average of 28.0 yards on three returns, with Johnson, Shaq Quarterman and Adam Gotsis making solo tackles.
“It was a complete game by the special teams,” Agnew said.
Riley Patterson of the Jaguars (10) is congratulated by holder Logan Cooke (9) after one of his two second-half field goals against the Titans on Saturday at TIAA Bank Field.
Cooke said he wasn’t necessarily rooting for close games, but loved the opportunity for the Jags special teams to play a key role in this one.
“This is what you dream about … seeing how hard all the guys work during the week,” he said. “For us to play well in a big fan like this is pretty cool. Riley’s field goals were huge. The guys covered their butts off … DT [Daniel Thomas] and Clay [Chris Claybrooks] were everywhere I was punting it. And Jamal gave us a huge lift.”
Matiscik credited the Jaguars training staff with helping him get his sore back tolerable enough to play and said it’s been helpful to have Sanborn, a 10-year veteran, take practice snaps for him.
“Garrison has really taken a load off me,” Matiscik said “We needed every guy on special teams, every guy on this roster to win the game. It’s cool that we all chipped in.”
Wingard said Cooke and the coverage teams were crucial in the fourth period when the Jaguars held Tennessee to 33 total yards.
“In a game like this, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, field position plays a big role,” he said. “Especially against a team that wants to run the ball. Pin them deep, make it hard for them to go 80, 90 yards and that’s what Logan and the coverage teams did.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jamal Agnew returns, Logan Cooke punts keep Jaguars in the game