John Oehser

JACKSONVILLEThese are the big ones and the fun ones.

If that's true of late-season division games with a lot at stake, the Jaguars absolutely have a big, fun one on Sunday with the chance to earn more such games after that.

"This is why you play,"Head Coach Liam Coen said as the Jaguars (7-4) prepared to play the Tennessee Titans (1-10) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday.

And make no mistake: This is a focused team as Sunday approaches, with tight endBrenton Strangesaying Wednesday, "Every time we play the Titans, it's a tough game."

The Jaguars, winners of two consecutive games and three of four, enter Sunday a game behind the division-leading Indianapolis Colts (8-3) in the AFC South. They are a game ahead of the Houston Texans (6-5), with the Colts and Texans playing in Indianapolis Sunday.

The Jaguars are No. 6 in the AFC "playoff" standings, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills. The Chargers are the No. 5 seed because of a better conference record (6-2) than the Jaguars (4-2), who are ahead of the seventh-seeded Bills (4-3) because of a better conference record.

"They don't reward losers in this league. If you want to get to the big dance, you have to be winning all the way through. We've done a good job getting ourselves to this moment, where the games do matter, so let's finish the job we started."

The Jaguars play 4 of their final 6 games against AFC South opponents:The Titans Sunday, the Colts in Jacksonville in Week 14, the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 17 and the Titans in Jacksonville in Week 18.

"We can control our own destiny. We just have to take care of business and take it 1 week at a time, like we've been doing. That feels good to be in that position. We know how big these games are and you see our division shaping up. Every game is so crucial and you've really just got to stay focused on who our opponent is and taking it 1 week at a time because you never know what's going to happen."

Coen called the division-heavy late-season schedule "a huge opportunity for us."

"We did talk about it a little bit [Wednesday] morning, obviously, how important games in November and December are specifically, but even more so when it comes to divisional games that the teams are used to playing each other," Coen said. "There's obviously some familiarity with both of these teams and staffs.

"You get into these parts of the season, everybody's nicked up, everybody's a little bumped and bruised, but it comes down to taking advantage of these opportunities and making the most of them and having that heightened sense of urgency as we get into later November, December."

Coen on Wednesday also referenced what he called a "care factor" playing Tennessee, the Jaguars' oldest division rival. The Titans lead the all-time series 35-26, with the Jaguars winning five of the last six meetings.

"We know what this challenge is. Records don't mean anything in the NFL right now."

QUOTABLE

• Coen on the Titans, who have lost their last three games against the Los Angeles Chargers (27-20), Houston Texans (16-13) and Seattle Seahawks (30-24) by a total of 16 points: "They have belief as a team. There's no quit in that team at all right now. They're actually playing better and better."