It was a rare day in Jacksonville, Florida. It was sleeting and there were snow flurries early in the morning at EverBank field. It was the coldest game in Jaguars history, and the Jaguars played like it. The team came out flat and fell to an early 10-0 deficit. Early the Jaguars offense without Maurice Jones-Drew was sluggish and took a while to get going.
Once it did get going, it didn't go very far.
The Jaguars fell to 8-7 with the loss to the Redskins today and 2-7 on the season when a quarterback throws the ball more than 22 times. The offense was without their heart and soul, Maurice Jones-drew, and it showed. Many, including myself, thought that Rashad Jennings would be able to handle the load. Like last week against the Colts however, the Jaguars offense struggled to rush the football and the game was put on David Garrard's shoulders.Garrard made some nice plays and some bad ones. Garrard was sacked 4 times, some his fault some he had no chance. He made some good throws and some really bad ones. His first interception of the game he sailed a ball over tight end Zach Miller's head, who was wide open. A few drives later however, he hit Mike Thomas on three straight passes to tie the game at 10 points. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, that was about all the offense they had until late in the fourth quarter.
With about 5 minutes left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Garrard missed on three straight incompletions on what looked like would be the last drive for the Jaguars. Luckily however, they were playing the Washington Redskins, who've made it a habit to find ways to lose a game. The Jaguars got the ball back, moved down the field, and tied the game on a 20-yard David Garrard run on a quarterback draw.
Enter overtime and the Jaguars win the toss. Two running plays of minimal gain from Jennings, and the Jaguars were forced the throw. The pocket collapsed in on David Garrard and he just heaved the ball to Marcedes Lewis. Garrard floated the ball and under threw it, allowing cornerback Kevin Barnes to get the easy interception and setup a Redskins score.
The Jaguars have lost two straight games in December, and it remains to be seen if their typical December collapse continues. Their playoff hopes are still alive, but they have no chance at a Wild Card now. They'll need help, and I don't think the Colts will oblige.
"We put too big a load on David, he wasn't able to carry that load," Jack Del Rio told reporters after the game.