JACKSONVILLE – These 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 end Brenton Strange saying Wednesday, "Every time we play the Titans, it's a tough game."

"We know what we're getting into," Strange said. "It's going to be a dogfight, for sure."

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.

"It's important to stay grounded and stay where your feet are," Strange said. "If we do the right things each and every day, we like where we're at."

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.

"I talked earlier this year about staying ahead of the count so we could put ourselves in this position where every game matters," Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said Wednesday. "In November and December, you have to be winning these games if you're going to make the big dance.

"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're right where we want to be," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. "We control our own destiny. A lot of division games coming up. That's all you can ask for is just to be able to dictate what you're able to do as a team and it's not like you're hoping for someone else to lose or win.

"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.

"Both teams have probably won games they shouldn't, and lost games they shouldn't," he said. "We understand anything can happen. Any given Sunday anything can happen, but especially in division games where there's maybe just that little extra want-to on both sides.

"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."