Today

Tennessee at Jacksonville

9:30 a.m., PST, Channel 2

* Story line: The Jaguars have had a brilliant year. They finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record. And then they barely broke a sweat in their postseason opener, running through the Miami Dolphins to win, 62-7. The Tennessee Titans, on the other hand, after futilely chasing the Jaguars in the AFC Central, needed a miracle finish in their playoff opener against the Buffalo Bills to survive. And some still question whether it was a fair outcome because of the controversial lateral pass preceding the game-winning kickoff return. Last week, the Titans looked stronger in upsetting the Indianapolis Colts, 19-16, but still had to fight to the end. So why are the Jaguars walking around with frowns on their faces? Because the only two losses they suffered this season were administered by . . . the Titans. The key question is, can the powerful Tennessee defense slow down Jacksonville’s high-flying, multidimensional offense?

* Key offensive stat: The Jaguars averaged an NFL-best 130.7 rushing yards a game. And they did that despite losing Fred Taylor, their leading rusher from last season, for six games because of a hamstring injury.

* Key defensive stat: It is the Titans who get the attention on defense, but it is the Jaguars who gave up the fewest points in the league, an average of 13.6 a game.

* Potential star of the game: Taylor. The Colts lost last week because the Titans shut down Indianapolis’ leading rusher, Edgerrin James. Tennessee won’t be able to stop Taylor, who has rushed for 383 yards in three career playoff games, including 162 against the New England Patriots last season. Last week against the Dolphins, Taylor had 135 yards in 18 carries before heading to the sidelines when the game got out of hand. That gave Taylor a 7.5-yard average carry. He won’t do that against Tennessee, but he should do enough to make the difference.

* But keep an eye on: Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair. He sat out practice Friday because of a bruised toe. McNair insists he will be ready for the Jaguars. If he isn’t, the Titans would have to go with backup Neil O’Donnell. In other words, they better hope McNair is ready.

* History says: Teams have met each other three times in the same season on 41 occasions since 1970, when the NFL and AFL merged, and in only seven cases has one team swept. Four teams have gone for that sweep on the road, and all were unsuccessful.

* Injury update: McNair has the most high-profile injury. Three Titans--tight end Larry Brown (ankle), defensive tackle Josh Evans (ankle) and cornerback Steve Jackson (knee)--are questionable. Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell is recovering from a knee injury, but he was able to play last week against Miami and should be even stronger this week.

* The line: Jacksonville by 7.

* And the winner is: Jacksonville. It won’t be easy. It won’t remind anyone of last week’s rout against Miami. Both defenses are strong, but the Jaguars have the edge on offense and the Titans have run out of miracles.

THE LOGS

JACKSONVILLE (14-2, 1-0)

Jaguars Opponent

41 San Francisco 3

22 At Carolina 20

19 Tennessee 20

17 At Pittsburgh 3

16 At N.Y. Jets 6

24 Cleveland 7

41 At Cincinnati 10

30 At Atlanta 7

6 Baltimore 3

41 New Orleans 23

30 At Baltimore 23

20 Pittsburgh 6

27 Denver 24

24 At Cleveland 14

14 At Tennessee 41

24 Cincinnati 7

62 Miami 7

TENNESSEE (13-3, 2-0)

Titans Opponent

36 Cincinnati 35

26 Cleveland 9

20 At Jacksonville 10

22 At San Francisco 24

14 Baltimore 11

24 At New Orleans 21

24 St. Louis 21

0 At Miami 17

24 At Cincinnati 14

16 Pittsburgh 10

33 At Cleveland 21

14 At Baltimore 41

21 Oakland 14

30 Atlanta 17

21 Jacksonville 14

47 At Pittsburgh 36

22 Buffalo 16

19 at Indianapolis 16