The Jacksonville Jaguars had the AFC South title in their grasp last weekend only to watch Peyton Manning bring the Indianapolis Colts back from the brink. Maybe they’ll have more success against Rex Grossman.
The Jaguars will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss when they host the Washington Redskins’ traveling circus on Sunday.
Jacksonville (8-6) could have clinched the AFC South with a win over the Colts last weekend but could not overcome their perennial tormentors in a 34-24 setback. The Jaguars have not won a division title since 1999 and now will need some help over the next two weeks in order to make the playoffs.
The first thing they need to do is figure out where the running game went wrong against the Colts. Jacksonville has used a simple formula this season - hand the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew and get out of the way.
That did not work so well against Indianapolis, as Jones-Drew was held to 46 yards and the Jaguars managed only 67 as a team.
David Garrard melted down in the third quarter, fumbling twice and throwing an interception as the Colts took control. Garrard gave the Jaguars a chance at the end, throwing a touchdown pass to Mike Sims-Walker with 1:54 left to make it 27-24, but the Colts ran the ensuing onside kick back for a touchdown to seal it.
Jacksonville now needs to win its final two games and have Indianapolis lose in order to take the division. The Jaguars could get a wild card without winning the division, but that would require a number of things to break their way.
Jones-Drew is listed as questionable due to a knee injury suffered against Oakland two weeks ago, but he is expected to play Sunday.
The Jaguars have the good fortune of playing the Redskins (5-9), who have generated more interesting headlines for what they have done off the field this season. This week’s controversy is centered on a radio interview that Donovan McNabb gave in which he said he felt “disrespected” by being benched.
Why that’s a news story - is there a person who wouldn’t feel disrespected by being benched? - is not the question, because it is all over the place and now the Washington’s players and coaches have to deal with questions about it.
That’s nothing new for this team, though, as the Redskins have had to deal all season with the tension between McNabb and coach Mike Shanahan as well as the drama surrounding disgruntled Albert Haynesworth prior to his suspension.
Grossman, who was installed as the starter last week, led Washington to a season-high 30 points and finished with 322 yards and four touchdowns. The Redskins still lost 33-30 as the Dallas Cowboys snapped a tie with a 39-yard field goal in the final minute.