Jaguars 20, Titans 16: Game Balls

Which Jaguars stood out the most and why during Saturday's AFC South championship win?

Each week during the 2022 season, we will take a quick post-game look at which Jacksonville Jaguars stood out the most.

Win or lose, rain or shine, we will hand out game balls to an offensive, defensive and special teams player.

In this edition, we take a look at the Jaguars' 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans for the AFC South title and which players stood out in big ways.

Offense: Christian Kirk 

Trevor Lawrence deserves some consideration for this award. Same goes for Jawaan Taylor and Walker Little, each of whom had strong games in pass-pro. But ultimately, the Jaguars' best overall player on offense on Saturday was Chrisitan Kirk, who posted a six-catch, 99-yard performance along with the offense's only touchdown. Kirk made several big grabs and would have had two touchdowns had Lawrence not slightly underthrown him in the game's final quarter. 

"You could just see all the joy, and that type of energy comes from all the amount of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice by each and every person in this building to get to this point. For it to pay off, it's an incredible feeling," Kirk said after the game. "To be able to share that moment, everybody in this building that's a part of this deserves to feel that. Like I said, I’m just so happy that we get to enjoy that, enjoy this moment, and keep working towards our goals that we've put in front of us."

In a game where the Jaguars' offense struggled to finish drives and stalled during the final stages, Kirk was a consistent bright spot. They signed him to be a leader and a different-maker, and he was all of that and more during the biggest win of his NFL career. 

Defense: Josh Allen, Rayshawn Jenkins, Corey Peters, DaVon Hamilton, Travon Walker, and Arden Key 

It wasn't a perfect night for the Jaguars' defense, but a strong second-half and some of their biggest individual efforts all came on Saturday. The unit -- and especially the front-seven -- played arguably their best half of the year, forcing two turnovers and scoring a touchdown in the second-half. As a result, we are opting to give this 

"We knew this was going to be one of those games where you have to bring your big boy pads as we call it and you're going to have to bow up because he is going to get five, six, seven yards every time," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said. 

"Credit to the defense. I mean, kept him I think to 3.5 or 3.6 or so yards. Just have to commit 11 guys against a good back like that, and our guys did a nice job. We had an extra D-lineman in there in our game plan this week. You know you're always going to be fighting it to the end because that run game that they have can keep you in a lot of ball games."

It is impossible to opt to give this week's award to any single player on the defense after a game like Saturday. So, let's run down the best performances. 

• Josh Allen had one of his best games as a Jaguar. Not only did he have six pressures, two quarterback hits, a sack, and a forced fumble on top of his game-winning touchdown, but he also had a dominant game as a run-defender. 
• Rayshawn Jenkins' big-time play to force the game-winning fumble is arguably the play of the year for the defense, but he did more than just that. He was a hammer in the running game, giving the Jaguars the ability to consistently play with eight in the box. 
• Corey Peters was a man possessed against the run, recording two tackles for loss and consistently clogging up rushing lanes.
• DaVon Hamilton had a heck of a performance himself. He held the point of attack with ease throughout the contest and brought pressure on several important plays.
• Travon Walker drew two holds, helped Roy Robertson-Harris record a sack, and was absolutely phenomenal against the run.
• Arden Key recorded nine pressures and three quarterback hits, including a quarterback hit on Tyson Campbell's interception.

Special teams: Jamal Agnew

This award could just as easily go to Logan Cooke, who nailed four punts inside the Titans' 20 and came up with several clutch kicks in the second-half. But we instead opt to give it to Jamal Agnew, who had returns of 54 and 22 yards. Agnew's explosive returns helped give the Jaguars' momentum and bring the stadium back to life in some serious down moments.