Both of these teams are reeling right now.  The Jaguars have lost two games in a row by a combined score of 72-23!  The Cowboys have lost 3 games in a row and they have lost starting QB Tony Romo to injury.  The Jaguars have been awful on the road as they are 1-2 on the year and they have been outscored 106-69!  But, the Cowboys are 0-3 at home as they have been outscored 102-82 in Dallas.  Both of the coaches in this game are on the hot seat so they are desperate for a good showing.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to try to mix things up a bit on offense in this game.  I see them throwing the ball a little more on first downs with David Garrard back from his concussion.  For the Jaguars to have any success throwing the ball, the O-Line is going to have to protect Garrard from OLB DeMarcus Ware.  Make no mistake though, Maurice Jones-Drew will be the focal point of the offense against a Cowboys’ D that is allowing 117.3 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys love to throw the ball but it would be smart of them to give the rock to Felix Jones & Marion Barber more than usual in this game.  The Jaguars are allowing 129.0 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry so it makes sense to run the ball.  The Cowboys are also going to throw the ball quite a bit as the Jags are allowing 253.1 yards passing per game this year.  The Cowboys’ WRs and TEs are likely going to be open quite a bit in this game.  The Jaguars will need to blitz a lot because Jon Kitna is prone to making mistakes when the pass rush is in his face.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 27, JAGUARS 20

Opposing teams have been ganging up on 25-year old RB Maurice Jones-Drew making every yard he gets a hard one.  He has carried the ball 135 times for 510 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 17 passes for 140 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  So in all this year, Jones-Drew has touched the ball 152 times for 650 yards (4.3 avg. per touch) which averages out to 92.9 yards of offense per game.  Last season Jones-Drew touched the football 365 times for 1,765 yards (4.8 avg. per touch) which averaged out to 110.3 yards of total offense per game last year.  He also scored 16 TDs for the Jaguars last season.  The Jaguars need some other guys to step up on offense so that Jones-Drew can start finding the same kind of running room that he had last year.

The Jaguars have signed 28-year old OT Erik Pears.  The 6’8″, 305 pound Pears played in 12 games (4 starts) last season for the Raiders.  Pears has now played in 44 games (30 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  The Jaguars will need to get Pears up to speed on the offense because he’s the kind of guy who can really help them for the rest of the season.

The Jaguars have lost 23-year old OT Eben Britton for the season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder.  Britton played in 7 games (all starts) for the Jaguars this year.  He has now played in 22 games (22 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he is a building block for the Jaguars’ O-Line.  This injury really hurts as Britton is a up and coming talent and the running game will suffer the most from his absence.

The Jaguars were only down 21-20 early in the third quarter in this game but then it all went to hell.  It started when Todd Bouman threw a pass right to Chiefs’ linebacker Derrick Johnson who returned it to the house for a TD!  That was the beginning of the end for the Jags.  Todd Bouman completed 18 of 34 passes for 222 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  It would have been hard to expect much more than that out of Bouman based on the fact that he hasn’t started a game in the NFL since 2006.  Maurice Jones-Drew had a hard time finding running room today as he carried the ball 16 times for 47 yards (2.9 ypc) but he did catch 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie RB Deji Karim pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 5 carries (5.8 ypc) today.  TE Marcedes Lewis (3 rec, 44 yards) and WR Mike Sims-Walker (3 rec, 38 yards, TD) helped out Bouman in the passing game today.  The Jaguars finished up with 84 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 34 passes for 216 yards as they only had the ball for 26:00 today.

The Jags’ D got absolutely pushed around today by the Chiefs.  Safety Courtney Greene (12 tackles), LB Justin Durant (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and DE Aaron Kampman (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 3 QB hits) led the way for the Jags on D today.  The Chiefs finished up with 236 yards rushing on 42 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 18 passes for 190 yards.  The Jaguars are now 3-4 on the season.

The Jaguars are coming off a 30-3 beatdown at home by the Titans on Monday Night Football.  Not only did the Titans punish them on the scoreboard but they injured both of the active QBs (David Garrard, Trent Edwards).  The Jaguars will likely be starting Todd Bouman in this game at QB.  The Chiefs are glad to be back home where they are 2-0, outscoring opponents 52-24!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jaguars have the football:  The Jaguars are likely going to feed the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew in both the running game and passing game as many times as he can handle against the Chiefs.  The Chiefs are allowing only 90.8 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.  Jags’ QBs have been sacked 14 times already this year and Todd Bouman has not appeared in a game since 2007 (with the Rams).  Lucky for Bouman, the Chiefs don’t make a lot of big plays against the passing game as they only have 3 interceptions so far this year and they are giving up 249.4 yards passing per game. 

When the Chiefs have the ball:  Jamaal Charles & Thomas Jones will be taking aim at a Jags’ D that is allowing 111.2 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.  But this is the game to really watch Matt Cassel.  The Jaguars are giving up 263.7 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 110.0 QB Rating against them.  Dwyane Bowe woke up last week and I fully expect to see him heavily involved in the passing game this weekend.  The Chiefs might also try to get veteran Chris Chambers and rookie Dexter McCluster more involved in the passing game this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 26, JAGUARS 13

28-year old kicker Josh Scobee had a 2009 season to forget.  He played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he only made 18 of 28 field goals (64.3%) and he was 30 of 31 on extra points good for 84 total points.  The Jaguars were so upset with him that they actually thought of replacing him.  But they eventually decided to give him another chance in 2010 and he has done a great job so far.  Scobee has made all 11 of his field goals and all 11 of his extra points this year, good for 44 points.  The Jaguars can’t afford to leave any points on the field so they hope Scobee keeps up the good work.

With David Garrard (concussion) and Trent Edwards (thumb) both unlikely to play this weekend in Kansas City, the Jaguars have signed 38-year old Todd Bouman (the new likely starter) and 31-year old Patrick Ramsey.  Bouman was with the Jaguars for one week this year after Luke McCown went down to injury and before Trent Edwards was claimed off waivers from Buffalo.  He has the edge on Ramsey to start because he has at least practiced with the team and he knows some of the plays.  Bouman last played in a real game in 2007 with the Rams.  He has played in 43 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 129 of 230 passes (56.1%) for 1,683 yards with 11 TD passes and 11 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Bouman has also carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards (4.1 ypc) in his NFL career.

31-year old Patrick Ramsey last played in a real game in 2008 with the Broncos.  He has played in 38 games (24 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 511 of 913 passes (56%) for 5,930 yards with 35 TD passes and 30 INTs (74.9 QB Rating).  Ramsey has also carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in this NFL career. 

UPDATE:  (10/29/2010) – The Jaguars have released Patrick Ramsey. 

32-year old starting QB David Garrard suffered a concussion Monday Night against the Titans and he has not returned to the practice field yet.  I don’t see him playing this weekend against the Chiefs.  Garrard has played in 6 games for the Jags so far this year and he has completed 84 of 128 passes (65.6%) for 838 yards with 9 TD passes and 7 INTs (84.7 QB Rating).  Garrard also has carried the ball 23 times for 94 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Garrard has been very up and down so far this year but he’s still without a doubt the best QB the Jaguars have.

27-year old Trent Edwards injured his right thumb pretty badly against the Titans but he still finished up the game.  Edwards has played in 1 game for the Jaguars this year and he has completed 14 of 24 passes (58.3%) for 140 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (40.3 QB Rating).  Edwards has also carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc) this year for the Jags.  Edwards has been at practice this week but his thumb has been heavily wrapped up.  I have a feeling that he won’t be playing either this weekend.

The Jaguars have released 26-year old safety Gerald Alexander.  Alexander played in 3 games for the Jags this year and he had 16 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  He played in 18 games in his two years with the Jaguars and he had 71 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions.  Sean Considine is ready to return to action and this is likely part of the reason that Alexander is out of work right now.