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The Jacksonville Jaguars were without Maurice Jones-Drew on Sunday against the Washington Redskins, and his absence was clearly missed. Not just his play on the field, but his ability to rally his football team. Wide receiver Jason Hill on his appearance on Jaguars All Access on Monday night said as much, noting they missed his presence in the huddle and on the field. Jaguars color analyst Jeff Lageman said on the same program it's unlikely the Jaguars will be with Maurice Jones-Drew on Sunday against the Houston Texans, and noted it could be "for a little while," insinuating even if the Jaguars somehow wind up with the AFC South title, Jones-Drew may still not be available.
Jones-Drew played with a knee injury against the Indianapolis Colts where his missed two practices and was limited the third the week prior. Last week he missed all three practices and missed a game due to injury for the first time in his career. Del Rio was asked if Jones-Drew's energy was missed on the field, and gave a wonderful coach speak answer, "I just don't think we played particularly well. I get that question from time to time on my radio show. People say you've got to be more fired up. What gets people fired up is playing well. We just didn't play very well. We didn't execute and get in the rhythm where, the crowd was ready to get fired up and into this ball game; we just didn't ever really do enough to really get them in there."
Even with a dismal performance on Sunday, I still believe Rashad Jennings can carry the load. He'll get another chance on Sunday against the Houston Texans, it seems.