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          NFL Nation

          Jaguars can't risk losing to Charlie Whitehurst again

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterDec 17, 2014, 04:15 PM ET
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' 2014 season has obviously been disappointing. A 2-12 record, just two offensive touchdowns in the last four games, and nine losses by double digits is proof of that.

          But there is one thing that could make it even worse: Losing to Charlie Whitehurst twice.

          No offense to the 32-year-old Tennessee Titans quarterback, who has made just seven career starts, but at one point this season he was the Titans' No. 3 quarterback behind Jake Locker and Zach Mettenberger.

          That's a bit befuddling. Whitehurst couldn't beat out one of the bigger first-round quarterback busts of the last decade and a rookie sixth-round pick to be the Titans' starter, but he was able to beat the Jaguars. Whitehurst threw for a career-high 233 yards and didn't turn the ball over in the Titans' 16-14 victory in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 12.

          "He's mobile in the pocket and he did a good job of keeping it away from us," defensive coordinator Bob Babich said. "He was very accurate. He threw the ball away when he got pressure and didn't throw panic throws into coverage. I thought he played game smart."

          That was the first victory for Whitehurst as a starting quarterback since he was with Seattle and beat St. Louis 16-6 on Jan. 2, 2011. He has thrown for 1,772 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions in nine seasons with San Diego, Seattle and Tennessee but didn't throw a pass in the regular season for the first four years of his career.

          Whitehurst has never scored more than 17 points in any game he has started and has completed more than 13 passes in any game in which he has played just twice.

          As well as the Jaguars have played defensively the past month, it would be discouraging to let Whitehurst put up good numbers again. The Jaguars held Andrew Luck to 68 yards below his average, returned two fumbles for touchdowns against the New York Giants, held Ryan Fitzpatrick to 135 yards passing, and held Joe Flacco to 220 yards and Justin Forsett to just 48 yards rushing.

          The Jaguars are already fighting for respect. Losing again to Whitehurst and the 2-12 Titans at home on national television won't help.