The Jags had breakdowns on special teams and defense that cost them this game.  Chris Hanson had a punt blocked that was recovered by KC’s Bernard Pollard in the end zone for a TD and that hurt the Jags big-time.  David Garrard started the game and completed 10 of 18 passes for 140 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 15 yards.  Quinn Gray played most of the second half and almost brought the Jags all the way back.  Gray completed 13 of 22 passes for 166 yards and carried the ball 2 times for 26 yards (13.0 ypc) with 2 TDs!  Maurice Drew carried the ball 12 times for 46 yards (3.8 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards.  Fred Taylor carried the ball 7 times for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) and he caught 1 pass…a 26 yard TD!  Matt Jones (5 rec, 104 yards) and Reggie Williams (6 rec, 90 yards) each played well for the Jags.

DE Paul Spicer led the defense of the Jags with 9 tackles.  The Chiefs ran the ball 40 times for 170 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Chiefs completed 16 of 25 passes for 225 net yards passing.

The Jaguars have lost two tough games in a row.  The Chiefs broke a 3-game losing streak last week with a 20-9 win over the Oakland Raiders.

The Jaguars will be running the football the minute they step off of the team bus in KC.  Fred Taylor (1,120 yards rushing), Maurice Drew (895 yards rushing) and QB David Garrard (235 yards rushing) should all find alot of running room against a Chiefs defense that is allowing 121.0 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Jaguars don’t really have much speed at WR, so they will try to spread the ball around when they decide to throw the football.

The Chiefs will run Larry Johnson (1,651 yards rushing) right at the Jaguars defense which is allowing 86.0 yards rushing per game and only 3.4 yards per carry.  The Chiefs will also keep the passes short which should help out Trent Green who has looked lost at times this season.  Green must always be aware of who Rashean Mathis is covering, because he’s the big playmaker on the Jaguars defense.

The Chiefs should win this game because they generally play well at home, while the Jaguars are not a very good road team.

The Jaguars can clinch a playoff berth with:  a win, a New York Jets loss and Cincinnati and Tennessee both lose or tie.

The Jags will probably end this season in disappointment as they should have won a couple of games that they lost this season.

The Jaguars tried hard to defend their home turf, but the Patriots were just a tad better yesterday.  David Garrard had a very efficient game throwing the football as he completed 17 of 23 passes for 195 yards and a TD.  Maurice Drew had a monster game with 19 carries for 131 yards (6.9 ypc) and 2 TDs.  He also caught 6 passes for 41 yards.  Matt Jones led the way for the Jags receiving corps with 4 catches for 69 yards and a TD.

The Jags defense got abused a little bit by the Patriots.  Tom Brady was spreading the ball all over the place and was taking advantages of the mis-matches on the field.  The Patriots ran the ball 30 times and got a hard earned 117 yards rushing (3.9 ypc).  The Patriots dissected the Jags defense as they completed 28 of 39 passes for 242 net yards passing.

The Jags fell to 8-7 on the season and will need a win and help to make the playoffs next week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost a game they dominated last week 24-17 to the Titans.  The New England Patriots have won 4 out of their last 5 games, including a 40-7 beatdown of the Houston Texans last week.

When the Jaguars have the football they will be looking to run first.  With Fred Taylor (1,120 yards rushing) probably missing this game, Maurice Drew (764 yards rushing) will have a heavy workload.  Look for Alvin Pearman and David Garrard to each contribute some, that is, if they have any luck against the tough Patriots run defense.  The Patriots are only allowing 87.7 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this season.  David Garrard has to spread the ball around in the passing game because none of the WRs on the Jaguars has stepped up his play this season.  Garrard had better be careful when throwing the football, because CB Asante Samuel has 8 interceptions so far this season and will make him pay for any mistakes with the ball.

When New England has the football, they might just spread the field and come out throwing the football first to set up the run.  Tom Brady (3,055 yards passing) is a master at finding weaknesses and exploiting them.  The Jags really have a good defense as they have held opposing QBs to a 63.8 rating so far this season.  Corey Dillon should shoulder most of the load in the running game, but every yard will be a tough one as the Jags allow only 83.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.

Something has to give in this game as one of the best road teams in the NFL (Patriots) visit one of the best home teams in the NFL (Jaguars).  The Patriots are 5-1 on the road and have outscored their opponents 156-64 in those games.  The Jaguars are 6-1 at home this season as they have scored 194 points and have allowed only 64 points in those games.

I have a hunch that the Jaguars are going to rise to the challenge and win this football game.

David Garrard proved today that he’s not ready to be a full-time starting NFL QB.  Garrard completed 22 of 37 passes for 233 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 43 yards (7.2 ypc).  Garrard allowed 3 TDs all by himself.  He lost a fumble that was returned 92 yards for a TD and he had two of his INTs returned for TDs.  Maurice Drew was real busy as he carried the ball 25 times for 98 yards (3.9 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 3 passes for 47 yards.  Fred Taylor left the game in the first quarter after he carried the ball 2 times for 37 yards.  LeBrandon Toefield carried the ball 6 times for 25 yards.  Reggie Williams led the receiving corps with 4 catches for 88 yards.  George Wrighster caught 5 passes for 27 yards.  Matt Jones added 3 catches for 12 yards.

The defense played great for the 15:38 that the Titans had the ball.  The Titans ran the ball 16 times for 41 yards (2.6 ypc).  The Titans only completed 8 of 15 passes for 57 net yards thru the air.

The Jags fell to 8-6 on the season with this loss.  It’s unbelievable that the Jags could lose a game that they possessed the ball for 44:22 of the game.  They out-yarded the Titans 396-98 and lost the game!  This game could cost them the playoffs.

This should be a very interesting football game.  The Jaguars have won their last two games including last week’s total domination of the Indianapolis Colts 44-17!  The Tennessee Titans are on fire as they’ve won 4 in a row including last week’s 26-20 OT victory over the Houston Texans.

The Jaguars will run the ball against the Titans just like the first time they played them.  The Jaguars ran for 375 yards last week against the Colts and the Titans have allowed 140.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this season.  Look for Fred Taylor (1,083 yards rushing) if healthy, and Maurice Drew (666 yards rushing, 6.1 ypc) to definately get their yards.  David Garrard will also take off and get some rushing yards against the Titans.  Don’t look for the Jags to throw the ball much, unless the Titans somehow step up and stop their running game, which isn’t likely.

The Titans, who are averaging 140.2 yards rushing per game will test the Jags tough run defense that is only allowing 87.1 yards rushing and 3.4 yards per carry.  Still, if Travis Henry (937 yards rushing) is healthy enough to play, he should get his yards.  If he can’t play, Chris Brown and LenDale White will split the carries.  Vince Young (458 yards rushing, 6.6 ypc) will also get some yards running the football.  Vince Young is improving as a passer, but he still better not challenge Rashean Mathis who has 7 interceptions this season.

The Jaguars punished the Titans 37-7 in the first meeting between these teams, but this could be a little different.  The Jags are only 2-4 on the road.  They punished the Colts at home, but lost to them on the road.  The Titans are on a magical roll and they also beat the Colts at home.  For some reason, and it’s not logic, I think the Titans are going to win this game at home.

 

Rashean Mathis deserves to be a Pro Bowler this season.  Teams have been paying for taking him on as he has 52 tackles and 7 interceptions.  Mathis has returned those interceptions 146 yards, so he’s gifted at running with the ball too.  He now has 19 interceptions in his career and he’s in his 4th season.

The Jaguars punished the Colts for showing up at their stadium today.  It was the Maurice Drew show in Jacksonville today.  Drew carried the ball 15 times for 166 yards (11.1 ypc) and 2 TDs.  Drew also caught 1 pass for 15 yards.  Drew also returned 2 kick-offs for 109 yards, including the opening kick-off of the second half that he returned 93 yards for a TD.  He also returned a punt for 13 yards.  Fred Taylor carried the ball 9 times for 131 yards (14.6 ypc) and a TD, but he left the game with an injury.  Alvin Pearman even got to play and carried the ball 13 times for 71 yards (5.5 ypc) and a TD.  David Garrard didn’t have to throw much in this football game as he completed 8 of 14 passes for 79 yards and an INT.  Reggie Williams led the WRs with 3 catches for 16 yards.

Linebacker Daryl Smith led an inspired effort by the defense.  He had 7 tackles and a sack.  The Jags stuffed the Colts running game, holding them to 34 yards on 20 carries (1.7 ypc).  The Colts completed 25 of 50 passes for 305 net yards passing.

The Jaguars improved to 8-5 on the season and have the look of a playoff team.

Things that seem too good to be true generally are.  Mercedes Lewis looked like the perfect fit in the Jags offense, a big, fast tight end.  Lewis has played in 11 games (2 starts) and has caught 7 passes for 67 yards (9.6 avg) and a TD.  It’s too early to say that Lewis is a bust, but he couldn’t even beat out George Wrighster for the starting job and that speaks volumes about Lewis.