NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans 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, playing in place of injured Jake Locker, hit 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards and helped set up three Ryan Succop field goals.

“Charlie handled himself just like I thought he would,” Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “He did a nice job. He was prepared, he made some good throws. … He bought some time in the pocket. We didn’t protect him as well as we need to, but he managed the offense and did a nice job.”

The Titans’ defense, which gave up a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, buckled down and forced two huge turnovers. Tennessee had six sacks, including two from defensive tackle Jerrell Casey.

The winless Jaguars dropped to 0-6.

“Well it feels like we’re going in the right direction, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. “We’ve got to use our pain that we’re feeling in that locker room to get things right, and I know they will.”

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 appeared poised to answer, driving inside the Tennessee 35 before quarterback Blake Bortles threw a pass right to Titans 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 5 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.

What the Titans said:

“The moment when my hand touched it, I turned around to make sure I didn’t just tip the ball. So when I saw it fall, I’m thinking, ‘Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus.’ It felt great. But there is no feeling in the world right now, that I can say makes me feel good, and any better than just getting the win today. Forget the block. Just win. That’s the biggest part for me. I don’t care how we did, as long as we did.” — Nose tackle Sammie Hill, who blocked a 55-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to preserve Tennessee’s win.

What the Jaguars said:

“It hurts. It’s one of those that is going to sit with you a while knowing that you had an opportunity to win the game. One of those gut punches that will sit with you for a long time.” — Wide receiver Allen Hurns, on the last-minute field-goal block that cost the Jaguars a shot at their first win.

What we learned about the Titans:

1. It wasn’t a great day for the running game, but there are signs of hope. Tennessee came in averaging an impressive 5.0 yards per rush, but it had helped the Titans to just one win in five games. The team had addressed an anemic ground attack by drafting Washington running back Bishop Sankey in the first round, but not until Sunday’s game with the Jaguars did he get his first start. On Sunday, Sankey had a pedestrian effort effort — 61 yards on 18 carries (3.4 per attempt) — but coach Ken Whisenhunt was encouraged by what he saw from Sankey, who was running beyond a relatively young line. “I think he’s going to be a really good football player. Obviously, he is talented with the ball in his hands; hard to tackle, slippery. It seems like every time he touches it, he makes something happen. He’s getting better and better, and he’s going to be really good.”

2. It was a good day for the youth movement. Sankey, a rookie, led the team in rushing. The one man picked before him, left tackle Taylor Lewan, started and seemed to hold his own. “We came out without a penalty by him, so that’s progress in itself, right? I would be guessing if I said what I thought he did. I know I watched him in pass protection, and he did a nice job,” Whisenhunt said. Inside linebacker Avery Williamson, another rookie, started and made three tackles as well as a fumble recovery followed by his 41-yard dash. Second-year cornerback Blidi-Wreh Wilson had a huge interception late in the third quarter deep inside Tennessee territory, followed by his 34-yard return. He also broke up a pass on the game’s first series and tied for a team high with 11 tackles. The Titans have the look of a team that could be drafting in the top third next spring, but the continued development of those players could provide some optimism between now and then.

—TE Delanie Walker came into Sunday’s game ranked second to Saints TE Jimmy Graham in receiving yards at the position. With two catches for 55 yards, Walker went ahead of Graham in yards (421) at the end of the game. The Saints have the week off, and Graham may miss a few games with a shoulder injury.

—ILB Avery Williamson, in his first career start, had three tackles and a fumble recovery.

—TE Chase Coffman got his first start as a Titan.

—QB Jake Locker was inactive with a wrist injury on his right (throwing) throwing arm.

—LT Michael Roos is now on injured reserve.

—LT Taylor Lewan made his first career start for Roos.

What we learned about the Jaguars:

1. Quarterback Blake Bortles looks like he has what it takes to make it in the NFL. The Jaguars opened some eyes when they made the Central Florida product the third pick of the first round, and though Bortles has seven interceptions against just four touchdowns in his first 143 attempts, he showed some positive signs on Sunday. Bortles started hot out of the gate, hitting a number of receivers with short tosses early in the game and then led tight end Clay Harbor on a nice 59-yard throw down the right sideline. Bortles will have to learn to get rid of the ball faster — even though he showed nice pocket presence, the Titans sacked him six times on Sunday. One of his chief antagonists, Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, was impressed. “He did a great job today. I can’t knock him, he did a heck of a job getting out of the way of pressure, getting them back into the game at the end, he did a great job. He’s got a lot of work to do, but I think he’s going to be a top quarterback one of these days,” Casey said.

2. The Jaguars are getting closer to competitiveness. Jacksonville hadn’t come within 14 points of an opponent until last week’s 17-9 loss to Pittsburgh. One positive for the Jaguars is that they were the seventh-least penalized team in the NFL coming into Sunday, and they had a respectable effort (four flags, 47 yards) vs. the Titans. On the other hand, the Jaguars were their own worst enemy in turnovers again; they entered the day tied for 30th in turnover margin at minus-6 and ended up minus-2 on Sunday. One thing to like from Sunday was that the Jaguars out-gained Tennessee 379-290. “It feels like we’re going in the right direction, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough. We’ve got to use our pain that we’re feeling in the locker room to get things right, and I know they will. They haven’t shown me any other thing different than any other week. I think we’ll use this and we’ll grow from this,” coach Gus Bradley said.

—CB Demetrius McCray started in place of Dwayne Gratz, and registered two tackles.

—TE Clay Harbor had a career-long 59-yard reception. His 20-yard reception in the fourth quarter for a score was his first TD of 2014.

—QB Blake Bortles set career highs in completions (32), attempts (46) and yards (336), and had just one interception on Sunday after throwing two in each of his previous three games.