Titans Clinch Division Title

One moment, the Tennessee Titans made the playoffs. The next, they won the division.

At this rate, there’s no telling how far the Titans might go in a season that seems to get better by the minute.

Eddie George ran for two touchdowns and Steve McNair threw for another Sunday to help the Titans embarrass Jacksonville, 28-10 -- a loss that probably sent Jaguar Coach Tom Coughlin closer to unemployment.

With their ninth win in 10 games, the Titans (10-5) became the first team in the jumbled AFC to wrap up a playoff spot. A few minutes later, the New York Giants closed out a 44-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts, which made Tennessee the first champion of the AFC South.

“It’s what we expected to do at the beginning of the season, and obviously, we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us,” Titan Coach Jeff Fisher said.

The Jaguars (6-9) were guaranteed their third consecutive losing season, and Coughlin was booed frequently by an announced crowd of 51,033 in the last home game of the season.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s the head coach or someone else is the head coach,” Jaguar cornerback Fernando Bryant said. “[Tennessee] beat us, and it wasn’t because the stands were half full or anything else.”

The Titans pushed the Jaguars around on both sides of the ball. George ran for 89 yards in 21 carries. Playing with sore ribs, McNair ran for a season-high 58 yards and threw for 115 more.

Tennessee outgained Jacksonville 298-214, held the ball for 11 more minutes and had four sacks. It was hard to believe this was the team that didn’t send a player to the Pro Bowl.

“I think we’ve been playing with a chip on our shoulder the whole year,” linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “For this team to be one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and for no one to go to represent Tennessee in Honolulu is absurd. People are just going to have to feel the wrath.”

Meanwhile, the three players Jacksonville depend on to make big plays -- Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith and Fred Taylor -- didn’t play for portions of the game.

Brunell left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and 114 yards passing. Taylor (ankle) ran for 17 yards and Smith (shoulder) had three catches for 14 yards.