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The Jacksonville Jaguars won the battle of the basement dwellers, knocking off the Tennessee Titans 10-6 in Week 14. The victory lifted the Jags to 3-10 on the season as the Titans fell to an identical 3-10 mark. However, thanks to the head-to-head edge, the Jaguars are no longer in last place in the AFC South.
Jacksonville’s defense made life miserable for quarterback Will Levis, who played through a shoulder injury that was re-aggravated by a bone-crunching Josh Hines-Allen sack.
While the hit did not draw a flag from officials, the league weighed in and decided to penalize Hines-Allen retroactively. The NFL fined the veteran defensive end $16,883 for roughing the passer, per insider Tom Pelissero on X. The league felt Hines-Allen landed with his body weight on top of Levis.
Although the sack was ultimately deemed a violation of league rules, it had a massive impact on the game. Levis did not miss a snap in Week 14 but the second-year passer was clearly compromised. He went 19/32 for 168 scoreless yards against Jacksonville, only managing a meager 5.25 yards per attempt.
Jacksonville was playing its first game since starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence landed on injured reserve following a brutal shot to the head by Houston Texans’ linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Backup QB Mac Jones failed to throw a touchdown while tossing two interceptions but the Jaguars walked away with the win, thanks in large part to Hines-Allen’s sack.
Jaguars' Josh Hines-Allen takes a hit to the wallet after a game-changing hit in Week 14
Hines-Allen has remained with Jacksonville since being selected by the team with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft. The sixth-year veteran had a career-best season in 2023, racking up 66 total tackles, 17.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.
The impressive performance led the Jaguars to sign Hines-Allen to a five-year, $150 million contract with $88 million guaranteed. The mega-deal made the edge rusher the third highest-paid defender in the NFL by average annual value.
Hines-Allen used to be Josh Allen before changing his name earlier this year. While it was widely believed the switch was to avoid confusion in fantasy football trades, it turns out the 27-year-old DE changed his name to honor his maternal family. So, really, it had nothing to do with that other Josh Allen always coming up first in Google searches. OK? He just remembered how much he liked the other side of his family. So you can stop speculating.
Anyway, Hines-Allen now owes the league $16,883 for wrecking Levis’ shoulder. But he can afford it considering he’s earning more than $28 million this season.
Jacksonville will host Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in Week 15 as both 3-10 teams make feeble attempts to avoid finishing last in their divisions. The Jaguars could win consecutive games for the first time this season with a victory and the Jets have a chance to pick up their second win in the last 11 games.
