NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee quarterback Charlie Whitehurst may not be the Titans quarterback of the future, but he did exactly what his team needed him to do on Sunday.

The 32-year-old journeyman, making just his sixth career start, played efficient, turnover-free football in Tennessee’s 16-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at LP Field.

Whitehurst hit 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards and helped set up three Ryan Succop field goals.

Meanwhile, the Titans’ defense, which gave up a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, buckled down and forced two huge turnovers.

The Titans (2-4) took the second-half kickoff and drove 77 yards in 13 plays as Succop’s 21-yard field goal gave them a 13-7 lead.

Jacksonville (0-6) appeared poised to answer, driving inside the Tennessee 35 before Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles threw one right to Tennessee cornerback Blidi-Wreh Wilson at the 15. Wilson’s return to midfield helped set up Succop’s third field goal of the day, this one, from 42.

With under five minutes left, Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts fumbled away what everyone thought was the Jaguars’ last real chance inside the Titans 10, with cornerback Jason McCourty stripping it and linebacker Avery Williamson returning it 41 yards.

However, Bortles hit tight end Clay Harbor with a 20-yard scoring strike with 37 seconds left. When Tennessee safety Michael Griffin couldn’t handle the ensuing onside kick, the Jags still had a chance.

Bortles drove the Jaguars into Titans territory, but with the team out of timeouts, Jacksonville elected to have kicker Josh Scobee attempt a 55-yarder with 12 seconds left. The kick was low and defensive lineman Sammie Lee Hill blocked it, as Tennessee avoided what would have been an epic collapse for the second week in a row.

That was a big change from the way the day started.

Bortles’ 59-yard throw to Harbor put the Jaguars inside the 10 on the game’s first drive, where running back Storm Johnson scored on a 1-yard run.

The Titans answered when Whitehurst hit tight end Delanie Walker and running backs Leon Washington and Dexter McCluster with first-down throws to move Tennessee inside the Jacksonville 5, setting up Succop’s 25-yard field goal with 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

The teams then traded punts for most of the rest of the first half, until Whitehurst hit Walker with a 37-yard throw to move the Titans past midfield. A 22-yard completion to wide receiver Justin Hunter put the Titans at the 1, before fullback Jackie Battle bulled his way into the end zone on the next play with 1:06 left.

NOTES: Titans starting RB Shonn Greene sat out the game with a hamstring ailment. His Jaguars counterpart, RB Toby Gerhart, was out with foot issues. In their places, rookie RB Bishop Sankey (Titans) and Storm Johnson (Jacksonville) got their first career starts. … Titans QB Jake Locker was inactive for the second time this season, this time with a thumb issue. … The Titans put LT Michael Roos on injured reserve, which meant that 2014 first-rounder Taylor Lewan got his first start. … Titans rookie LB Avery Williamson got his first career start in place of Zaviar Gooden.