Read More: Guy Whimper (OT – JAC), Eben Britton (OT – JAC), Eugene Monroe (OT – JAC), Cameron Bradfield (OT – JAC), Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Guy Whimper missed practice today dealing with a knee injury and his status for the game against the Tennessee Titans. Whimper injured his knee against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. If Whimper won’t be able to play on Saturday, undrafted rookie Cameron Bradfield could make his second start of the season.

Bradfield started for the injured Eugene Monroe when the Jaguars traveled to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers weeks ago, when Eben Britton came up injured the day of the game. Bradfield looked very good filling in for Monroe on the left side, handling his own against the Steelers exotic blitzes. If he starts on Saturday however, he will be playing on the right side of the line where he has seen limited action.

For more on the Jaguars, please visit Big Cat Country, SB Nation’s Jaguars blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit Music City Miracles, SB Nation’s Titans blog.

Normally, I run a picks column on this site every Friday, but with the NFL having Thursday games, one game each week always is outdated. To rectify that, we’re going to run my pick for Thursday night’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons separately here. Tune in tomorrow morning for all of the rest of the picks.

Now, without further ado, my pick for this epic Jaguars-Falcons tilt.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons (-13.5): I know why this line is so high. I get it. The Falcons need the win, the Jaguarss have nothing to play for, yada yada. I understand all this. But Atlanta is maddeningly inconsistent and that is a lot of points. Matt Ryan and Co. win the game, but not by two touchdowns. Pick: Jaguars.

For more on the Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on the Falcons, visit The Falcoholic and SB Nation Atlanta.

Read More: Roddy White (WR – ATL), Maurice Jones-Drew (RB – JAC), Marcedes Lewis (TE – JAC), Josh Scobee (K – JAC), Michael Turner (RB – ATL), Harry Douglas (WR – ATL), Blaine Gabbert (QB – JAC), Julio Jones (WR – ATL), Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 14 kicks off on Thursday Night Football with the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars with the Falcons looking to solidify their NFC wildcard lead. For fantasy football owners, this game is even more important as just about all fantasy football leagues are in their playoffs.

A lot of fantasy matchups will get off to big starts early this week as this game features a host of quality players. Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner, Roddy White and Julio Jones are four big ones. Matt Ryan is generally a guy you start, although it depends in part on your backup. Tony Gonzalez remains a solid tight end start and even Marcedes Lewis is of some value in this game.

Atlanta Falcons

The big change with the Falcons the last couple weeks is the return of Julio Jones. This is significant because it makes Harry Douglas just about obsolete. It is entirely possible he could get a big catch or two, but the downside is significant behind White and Jones. If you were rolling with Harry Douglas while Julio Jones was out, you probably want to be benching Douglas this week.

Tony Gonzalez is on a hot streak lately with at least 69 yards receiving in each of the last five games. The Jaguars rank in the middle of the pack defending tight ends so there should be nothing to stop you from starting Gonzalez (barring a big name tight end in front of him on your roster).

The Falcons defense is also a solid start this week as they face a very questionable Jaguars team. The Jags get offense from MJD, but other than that, they do not have very many threats. With Blaine Gabbert’s up and down play, there is a chance for some picks and sacks this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars

After Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jacksonville Jaguars are fairly limited for fantasy football purposes. Marcedes Lewis is a decent option, but even his 77 yards last week came off only two catches. He is a big play threat, but against a Falcons defense that is tough against tight ends, I don’t expect huge numbers from Lewis. Other than maybe Josh Scobee getting some field goal attempts due to red zone failures, this Jaguars team is pretty depleted when it comes to fantasy options.

For more on fantasy football, check out Fake Teams. Follow us on twitter @sbnationfantasy.

A spectacular comeback helped put the Atlanta Falcons in position for their third playoff berth in four years.

With coach Mike Smith expected to be on the sideline after a medical scare, the Falcons will try to hold on to that spot Thursday night against a visiting Jacksonville Jaguars team that showed it’s not just content to play out the string.

It appeared that Atlanta’s playoff hopes might take a hit this past Sunday when it trailed 23-7 at halftime in Carolina. The Falcons, though, responded with 24 unanswered points in a 31-23 victory and received additional help later in the day with Chicago’s stunning overtime loss in Denver.

Matt Ryan had three of his career high-tying four touchdown passes over the final 24 minutes against the Panthers, including two to Julio Jones in the fourth quarter.

“We approached it as the first of four legs,” Ryan said of the team’s remaining games. “We’ve knocked the first leg out and now we’ve got to move on and keep going.”

You can watch this game live on Sportsnet starting at 8pm ET.

JACKSONVILLE (4-9) AT ATLANTA (8-5)

Today, 8:20 p.m., NFL Network, WDAK-AM 540

OPENING LINE — Falcons by 10½

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Jacksonville 4-8-1; Atlanta 6-6-1

SERIES RECORD — Jaguars lead 3-1

LAST MEETING — Jaguars beat Falcons 13-7, Sept. 16, 2007

LAST WEEK — Jaguars beat Buccaneers 41-14; Falcons beat Panthers 31-23

JAGUARS OFFENSE — OVERALL (32), RUSH (10), PASS (32)

JAGUARS DEFENSE — OVERALL (4), RUSH (16), PASS (4)

FALCONS OFFENSE — OVERALL (13), RUSH (18), PASS (10)

FALCONS DEFENSE — OVERALL (14), RUSH (5), PASS (22)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Falcons one victory away from fourth straight winning season. Before 2008, Atlanta had never put together back-to-back winning records. … Atlanta coach Mike Smith was defensive coordinator of Jaguars from 2003-07. … Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew leads NFL in rushing with 1,222 yards and set franchise record with four touchdowns (two running, two receiving) in last weekend’s rout of Tampa Bay. … Falcons WR Roddy White is 35 yards shy of fifth straight season with 1,000 yards receiving. … Despite signing DE Ray Edwards before season, Falcons tied for 24th in league with 25 sacks. … Atlanta QB Matt Ryan has put up passer efficiency rating higher than 110 in three of last four games. He also went past Chris Chandler for third place on team list for career yards passing with 13,353, trailing only Steve Bartkowski (23,470) and Chris Miller (14,066). … Jaguars rookie QB Blaine Gabbert is league’s lowest-rated passer (65.3). … Atlanta likely to be short-handed in secondary. CB Brent Grimes (knee) and Kelvin Hayden (toe) did not practice during short week and both listed as doubtful. … Jaguars have placed league-high 27 players on injured reserve. … Falcons RB Michael Turner has gone three straight games without rushing for 100 yards. Since joining Atlanta in 2008, he’s had only one stretch in which he went four games in a row without reaching triple figures.

– Associated Press