The Jaguars are desperate now after losing two games in a row.  They need a win over the Texans and a Titans win over the Colts in Indianapolis to win the AFC South and get a spot in the playoffs.  The Jaguars beat the Texans 31-24 in Jacksonville in the first meeting of these two teams this year but that was with David Garrard at QB and Maurice Jones-Drew at RB.  The task will be much harder this time around as they are going to be starting Trent Edwards at QB and Rashad Jennings at RB due to injuries.  The Texans have lost four games in a row and 8 of their last 9 games as they have shown no heart, especially on defense.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to try to be balanced on offense in this game.  They will probably start off the game throwing the football as the Texans are giving up 277.1 yards passing per game and opposining QBs have a 100.7 Rating against them.  Trent Edwards should have plenty of time to throw the football as the Texans’ don’t have much of a pass rush.  That means that TE Marcedes Lewis and WRs Mike Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas could all have big games if Trent Edwards does.  Rashad Jennings will be taking aim at a Texans’ D that is allowing 103.5 yards rushing per game and only 3.9 yards per carry.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are likely going to run the ball a little more than usual in an attempt to control the clock.  That means the front seven is going to have to be ready to deal with Arian Foster, whose 1,436 yards rushing is leading the NFL.  He is also lethal out of the backfield in the passing game.  The Texans will be without Andre Johnson which is good news for the Jags.  The bad news is that Matt Schaub still has plenty of weapons to throw the ball to in Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 30, JAGUARS 24

28-year old linebacker Daryl Smith really stepped up for the Jaguars this season.  He has played in 15 games for the Jags so far this year and he has 90 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 5 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble.  Smith has now played in 107 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 559 tackles, 31 passes defensed, 18 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 5 interceptions.  The Jaguars will need Smith to bring his A-Game this weekend as Arian Foster is really going to challenge the defense.

With Maurice Jones-Drew out of action for another week due to a knee problem, the Jags need 25-year old RB Rashad Jennings to step up.  Jennings only rushed for 32 yards on 15 carries (2.1 ypc) against the Redskins last weekend and he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg).  If he plays like that against the Texans this weekend, the Jags are going to lose.  Jennings has played in 11 games for the Jaguars so far this year and he has carried the ball 62 times for 351 yards (5.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 22 passes for 189 yards (8.6 avg) so far this year.  The talent is definitely there for Jennings to have a good game this weekend and the Jags desperately need him to step up.

With David Garrard out for the season it puts a lot of pressure on 27-year old QB Trent Edwards who will start this Sunday.  He will likely have a short leash though with 38-year old Todd Bouman backing him up and the Jaguars needing this game to have a chance of making the playoffs.  Edwards has played in 2 games 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) for the Jags.  Edwards has played in 4 games overall this year for the Bills & Jags in which he has completed 43 of 76 passes (56.6%) for 381 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (52.6 QB Rating).  Edwards has also carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards (4.0 ypc) so far this year.  Edwards will be taking aim at a Texans’ secondary that is allowing 277.1 yards passing per game and they don’t have much of a pass rush, so he should have some success.  38-year old Todd Bouman will probably be warming up a lot in this game just in case the Jags need to pull Edwards.  Bouman has played in 1 game (a start) for the Jags this year and he completed 18 of 34 passes (52.9%) for 222 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (68.5 QB Rating).  Bouman also carried the ball 2 times for 8 yards (4.0 ypc) in his start.  The Jags won’t hesitate to yank Edwards if he’s not getting the job done as the Jaguars need to push all of the chips to the middle of the table with the playoffs possibly at stake.

25-year old RB Maurice Jones-Drew will miss the season finale against the Texans this Sunday due to a knee problem.  Jones-Drew played in 14 games for the Jaguars this year and he carried the ball 299 times for 1,324 yards (4.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 34 passes for 317 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs this year.  The Jaguars really need Rashad Jennings to step up against the Texans.  Maurice Jones-Drew might be able to return for the playoffs if the Jaguars can make it to them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed 32-year old QB David Garrard on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to surgery on his right middle finger.  Garrard played in 14 games for the Jaguars this year and he completed 236 of 366 passes (64.5%) for 2,734 yards with 23 TD passes and 15 INTs (90.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 66 times for 279 yards (4.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs this year.  He goes down at a very had time for the Jaguars who need a win at Houston this Sunday and a loss by the Colts in Indy against the Titans to make the playoffs.

The Jaguars really blew this game.  They won the coin flip in O.T. so they took the ball.  On the Jags’ third play of the O.T. period, David Garrard threw an interception to Redskins’ CB Kevin Barnes who returned the ball to the Jags’ 14-yard line.  That set up the Redskins’ game winning field goal!  This was a real shame as Garrard had a solid game until that pass.  Garrard completed 22 of 38 passes for 299 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 39 yards (6.5 ypc) with a TD run in this game.  Rashad Jennings had a rough time filling in for Maurice Jones-Drew in this game.  Jennings carried the ball 15 times for 32 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg).  WRs Mike Thomas (6 rec, 96 yards, TD) and Jason Hill (4 rec, 77 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Jags yesterday.  The Jaguars finished up with 78 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 38 passes for 258 yards in this game.

The Jaguars’ D really played solid football yesterday but it didn’t matter in the end.  LB Daryl Smith (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and LB Russell Allen (8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Jaguars’ D in this game.  CB Derek Cox pitched in with 1 tackle, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception in this game.  The Redskins finished up with 79 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 39 passes for 172 yards.  The Jaguars are now 8-7 on the season and they still have a chance to win the AFC South.  If the Jags can win in Houston next week and the Titans beat the Colts in Indy, then the Jags will win the division.

The Jacksonville Jaguars need to rebound from last week’s disappointing loss to the Colts.  They are still tied with them for the lead in the AFC South and they are playing at home this week where they are 5-2 on the year.  The Redskins have lost four in a row and six of their last seven games, but they have played decent the last two weeks.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jaguars have the ball:  I look for the Jaguars to be balanced against a Redkins’ D that is awful against both the run (134.4 yards per game) and the pass (263.3 yards per game).  Maurice Jones-Drew appears to be a tad gimpy right now so look for Rashad Jennings to have a bigger role in this game.  David Garrard could also take off running a few times for the Jags this Sunday.  Garrard was sharp throwing the ball last weekend and the Redskins have virtually no pass rush.  With that in mind, Garrard should have enough time to be able to get the ball to Mike Thomas, Marcedes Lewis and Mike Sims-Walker early and often in this game.

When the Redskins have the ball:  I think the Redskins are going to try to engage in a shootout with the Jags.  The Jaguars are allowing 255.6 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a rating of 100.2 against them so far this year!  Look for Rex Grossman to target TE Chris Cooley on the short stuff and Anthony Armstrong and Santana Moss on the deeper stuff.  The Jaguars can’t go all out to stop the pass as RB Ryan Torain has been solid the last couple of weeks.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 26, REDSKINS 23

The Jaguars pulled within 3 points of the Colts with 1:54 left in this game, but, that is when Josh Scobee kicked one of the worst onside kicks I have ever seen!  Colts’ LB Tyjuan Hagler picked up Scobee’s kick and he returned it 41 yards for a TD to officially put the Jags out of their misery!  David Garrard really came to play in this game as he completed 24 of 38 passes for 294 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 8 yards  (2.0 ypc) in this game.  Maurice Jones-Drew led the way on the ground for the Jags in this game with 46 yards on 15 carries (3.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 22 yards (11.0 avg).  Rashad Jennings carried the ball 3 times for 13 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 64 yards (9.1 avg).  TE Marcedes Lewis (6 rec, 63 yards) and WR Mike Sims-Walker (4 rec, 42 yards, 2 TD grabs) led the way in the passing game for the Jags.  WR Mike Thomas also had a big game as he caught 3 passes for 63 yards (21.0 avg) and he also returned a punt 78 yards for a TD.  The Jaguars finished up with 67 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 38 passes for 289 yards.

The defense didn’t play too well in this game.  LB Daryl Smith came to play though as he led the way for the Jaguars with 15 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  CB William Middleton pitched in with 8 tackles in this game.  The Colts finished up with 155 yards rushing on 24 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 39 passes for 221 yards.  The Jaguars are still tied with the Colts atop the AFC South with a 8-6 record.

The Jaguars have won 5 of their last 6 games to take a 1-game lead in the AFC South.  They can win the division with a win over the Colts this weekend in Indy.  The Jaguars beat the Colts 31-28 in Jacksonville during Week #4.  The Colts have only won 1 of their last four games including home losses to the Chargers & Cowboys.  This is a “must win” game for the Colts if they want to return to the playoffs.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to have the same exact gameplan that they had in the first meeting of these two teams.  They are going to feed the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings against a Colts’ D that is allowing 141.1 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Jags rushed for 174 times on 35 carries (5.0 ypc) in the first meeting of these two teams.  David Garrard will likely be throwing a lot off of playaction which should buy him time in the pocket.  I look for the Jags to keep the passing game short as they are going to try to control the clock instead of getting into a shootout.

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to come out throwing the ball against a Jags’ D that is allowing 258.3 yards passing per game.  Instead of blitzing Peyton Manning, which doesn’t seem to work too well….the Jags should play bump and run on the corners to try to disrupt the timing of the Colts’ passing game.  The Jags are going to need Rashean Mathis to win more battles than he loses against Reggie Wayne.  The Colts are only averaging 79.7 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry so the front seven should be able to handle them.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 33, COLTS 30