When looking within their division, the Jacksonville Jaguars simply haven’t fared all that well against the Tennessee Titans. With a 21-30 all-time record against the Titans, the Jags have especially struggled in Nashville as their last victory at Nissan Field took place in 2013.
However, at least for 2020, the Jags’ luck with traveling to Nashville could change as the atmosphere will be significantly different. On Tuesday, the mayor of Nashville, John Cooper, announced that the Titans won’t be allowed to have fans in the stands for the Titans’ opener out of concerns for the coronavirus.
“Across the United States, there’s a wide range of approaches to in-person attendance for professional sports based on a wide range of public health policies and the prevalence of the coronavirus in those locations,” Cooper said Tuesday. “We must take a cautious approach recognizing that we cannot predict our COVID-19 metrics further into the fall sports season. I’m grateful both to the Tennessee Titans and Nashville SC for working closely with our Office of the Metro Public Health Department while prioritizing the safety of their players, staff and our residents.”
Last season the Jags and Titans split their series, with the Jags winning the first battle Week 4 by a score of 20-7, and the Titans winning the second by a score of 20-42. It’s worth noting that Minshew started in the victory but Nick Foles had returned for the second battle, making Minshew undefeated against the Titans.
Most Titans fans would agree that the Jags are the team’s biggest rival in the AFC South. Having to face them in a predominately empty 69,000-seat stadium just won’t feel right on their part, but Gardner Minshew and company surely won’t complain about it.
Mayor Cooper’s decision, which is totally understandable, also puts the Titans in an awkward situation for the Jags and Titans overall series in 2020 because when they travel to Jacksonville, there will be a crowd. As we reported back in July, the city will allow the Jags to play with TIAA Bank Field at 25% of its capacity, which is approximately 16,791 fans.