No David Garrard? No problem for the Jaguars.
Luke McCown was good enough in Jacksonville today, completing 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards with no interceptions, as the Jaguars jumped ahead early and held on to beat the Titans 16-14.
McCown didn’t do anything spectacular, but he didn’t do anything terrible, either. On a day when the Jaguars ran the ball 47 times for 163 yards, McCown managed the game effectively, and that was all the Jaguars needed from their quarterback.
The best player on the field Sunday was Titans receiver Kenny Britt, who turned a broken play into a spectacular 80-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown, and also had a nice grab in the end zone on a two-yard pass to keep the Titans alive late in the fourth quarter.
Britt finished with five catches for 136 yards, which represented slightly more than half of the 263 yards new Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck gained through the air. The Titans’ offense didn’t get much of anything from Chris Johnson, who picked up just 24 yards on nine carries. The Titans might be wishing Johnson had held out a little longer.
It remains to be seen whether the Jaguars’ decision to cut Garrard last week was a wise one, but after one week it doesn’t look bad. McCown was competent, and the Jaguars are 1-0.