The Jacksonville Jaguars showed why they are one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the playoffs as they handed the Titans a 40-13 beating in the final game of the 2005 season at Alltel Stadium.

Jacksonville finished the season with a 12-4 record and will play at New England next week in the AFC Wildcard Playoffs. The Titans ended the season at 4-12, the worst record since the franchise moved to Tennessee.

Tennessee allowed a 100-yard rusher for the fifth straight week as Jacksonville running back LaBrandon Toefield recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game totaling 102 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. Starting quarterback David Garrard completed 10 of 16 passes for 128 yards before giving way to Quinn Gray, who went eight of 14 for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie receiver Matt Jones caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, while receiver Ernest Wilford hauled in two balls for 40 yards and a score. The Jags finished with 335 total yards compared to 270 for Tennessee.

Tennessee Head Coach Jeff Fisher took the blame for his team’s poor performance.

‘’Ultimately, the performance and production falls on my shoulders, and I’m going to take responsibility for this, and I assure you from this moment on nothing like this is ever going to happen again,’’ Fisher said. ‘’We can get it fixed and we will, but what happened tonight was unacceptable.’’

The Titans killed themselves with a franchise record 18 penalties for 140 yards, including two third quarter personal fouls on cornerback Pacman Jones that allowed Jacksonville to continue a scoring drive and resulted in Jones being pulled from the contest. Tennessee suffered two turnovers, and Titans quarterbacks were sacked three times for 21 lost yards.

Fisher added that Tennessee would immediately begin getting better.

‘’We’ve got some work to do…and we’re going to get it done starting tomorrow,’’ Fisher said.

Tennessee quarterback Matt Mauck, making his first NFL start in place of the injured Steve McNair, completed seven of 14 passes for 65 yards, an interception, and a lost fumble in one half of work. Quarterback Billy Volek played the second half and finished 14 of 25 for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Ben Troupe had a game-high nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Bo Scaife totaled two receptions for 15 yards and a score. Running back Travis Henry ran 13 times for 48 yards.

Tennessee kicked off to Jacksonville to start the game Sunday.

Garrard threw two incompletions before finding receiver Jimmy Smith for a14-yard gain and a first down. Toefield ran for two yards and Garrard hit tight end Kyle Brady for 10 more before the Titans committed three straight penalties to put the Jaguars at the Tennessee 21-yard line. Garrard then hit running back Alvin Pearman for six yards followed by Smith for nine more. Pearman would take it up the middle into the endzone on the next play for a six-yard touchdown. Kicker Josh Scobee nailed the point after to give the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with 11:09 remaining in the first quarter.

Tennessee would make it only nine yards on their possession before Craig Hentrich punted.

Garrard found receiver Reggie Williams for 14 yards on first down to get Jacksonville to the Tennessee 43-yard line. Toefield would lose three yards on the next play before running up the middle for 14 yards on second down. Toefield would finish the drive from there on the next play as he broke five tackles on his way to the endzone for a 32-yard touchdown run. Scobee converted the point after to extend the lead to 14-0 with 7:15 left in the first quarter.

The Titans would continue to struggle offensively on the ensuing drive as they again went three-and-out before punting.

The Jaguars managed a first down on the ensuing drive before Tennessee linebacker Peter Sirmon ran Garrard out of bounds for a six-yard loss and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth sacked Garrard for an eight-yard loss on third down to force the punt.

The Jaguars would get the ball back on the next play when Mauck threw an interception into the hands of cornerback Rashean Mathis, who returned the ball nine yards to the Tennessee 36-yard line.

Jacksonville would get only eight yards on the drive before settling for a Scobee 46-yard field goal to make the score 17-0 with 1:35 left in the first quarter.

After a Mauck incompletion and an offensive holding penalty made it second down and 20 yards to go, the Titans would continue their offensive struggle and punt.

Garrard hit Smith for 12 yards to get to the Tennessee 47-yard line as the first quarter ended.

After the second quarter started, the Jaguars would manage only one more yard on the drive before punting.

After Mauck rushed for 12 yards to the Tennessee 22-yard line for the first Titans first down of the game, the quarterback fumbled on the next play and Jacksonville linebacker Tony Gilbert recovered the ball at the 26-yard line.

The Jaguars would go five yards on the drive before Scobee came on to nail a 39-yard field goal and give Jacksonville a 20-0 lead with 10:13 remaining in the second quarter.

The Titans managed a first down on their ensuing drive to the Jacksonville 35-yard line where they faced fourth down and two yards to go. Mauck’s pass for tight end Ben Troupe was too high and the Jags took over possession.

Garrard threw two passes for 16 yards and Toefield ran for six more to get the Jaguars to the Tennessee 44-yard line where they faced third down and four yards to go. Garrard hit Jones for 32 yards and Tennessee was flagged for roughing the passer to put the Jags at the six-yard line. Two plays later, running back Derrick Wimbush ran six yards up the middle for a touchdown and Scobee added the extra point to give Jacksonville a 27-0 lead with 4:11 left in the first half.

The Titans would drive to the Jacksonville 35-yard line where they faced fourth down and 15 yards to go. Mauck would get sacked by Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray for an eight-yard loss and Jacksonville took over.

Jones, a college quarterback, came in to finish the first half for the Jaguars, completing one pass for six yards and handing off to Toefield for three yards to end the half with Jacksonville leading 27-0.

Jacksonville kicked off to the Titans to start the second half.

Volek replaced Mauck at quarterback but the first drive produced the same results as the first half as Tennessee gained no yardage and went three-and-out before punting.

The Jaguars also inserted a new quarterback as Gray replaced Garrard. Jacksonville would suffer two penalties on their way to punting after going three-and-out.

The Titans would mirror the Jags on their ensuing drive as they suffered two penalties on their way to punting back to Jacksonville after going three-and-out.

After an unnecessary roughness penalty on Tennessee put Jacksonville at their own 33-yard line, Gray found Jones for 13 yards. Three plays later, with Jacksonville facing third down and three, Gray hit Williams for 20 yards to the Tennessee 27-yard line. Tennessee appeared to stop the Jags three plays later when Jones broke up a pass attempt intended for receiver Cortez Hankton. After the play, shoving between the two ensued and Jones grabbed Hankton’s facemask warranting an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jones that kept the drive alive. Jones would argue his case two plays later to the official, earning himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and was pulled from the game. The penalty placed Jacksonville at the Tennessee seven-yard line on first down. Four plays and a delay of game penalty later, Gray hit Jones for a 10-yard touchdown. Scobee nailed the point after and the score stood at 34-0 with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

Tennessee gained a first down on their ensuing drive before punting back to the Jags.

Jacksonville retained possession at the Tennessee 48-yard line. After Toefield ran for eight yards on first down, Gray hit Wilford for 26 yards to the 14-yard line. Gray and Wilford hooked up again on the following play for a touchdown. Scobee missed the point after and score was 40-0 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

Volek found receiver O.J. Small for six yards to the Tennessee 29-yard line to end the quarter.

After the fourth quarter started, Volek completed four passes for 40 yards and running back Damien Nash ran five times for 27 yards to help Tennessee get to the Jacksonville four-yard line on third down. Volek connected with Troupe in the endzone on the following play for the touchdown. Kicker Rob Bironas nailed the point after to make the score 40-7 with 9:01 left in the game.

The Jaguars started their next possession at their own 22-yard line. Jacksonville took over six minutes off the clock on their way to the 48-yard line on third down. Tennessee defensive end Bo Schobel sacked Gray for a nine-yard loss, knocking the ball loose, and linebacker Brad Kassell recovered at the 41-yard line.

Volek completed four passes for 31 yards to get to the 10-yard line on first down. Volek’s pass was tipped high in the air and caught by Scaife, who ran into the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown. Bironas missed the extra point and the score stood at 40-13 with only 55 seconds remaining in the game.

The Titans attempted a surprise onside kick that was recovered by Jacksonville cornerback Terry Cousin at the Tennessee 47-yard line. Gray would kneel twice to preserve the 40-13 victory.