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Jaguars run over Eagles, shut down McNabb

Oct 29, 2006 - 9:07 PM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars manhandled the Philadelphia Eagles on both sides of the ball.

Fred Taylor and rookie Maurice Jones-Drew led a dominant ground game and the Jaguars' defense shut down the league's top-ranked offense en route to a 13-6 victory over the Eagles.

With starting quarterback Byron Leftwich sidelined with an ankle injury and a defense battling injuries, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio watched his team dominate the befuddled Eagles from the outset.

"I thought they played very well up front today," Del Rio said. "We had some good design. I thought the offensive line executed well. The backs ran hard and determined."

"We could have sprung a few more holes for Maurice and Fred," Jaguars offensive tackle Khalif Barnes said. "For the most part, we blocked pretty well. We can get better."

Taylor carried 15 times for 103 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter that gave the Jaguars (4-3) a 7-0 lead.

Jones-Drew also found plenty of room to run as he rushed for 77 yards on a career-high 21 attempts. Jacksonville rushed for 209 yards overall.

"The goal with (offensive coordinator) Mike Tice is for the backs to get 200 yards rushing in games," Taylor said. "We were able to get that today because the offensive line was great. We knew it was going to be one of those smash-mouth type of days."

"The offensive line has been doing a great job this whole year," Jones-Drew said. "It's all about them. They make the holes. I've got to find them."

David Garrard, who played well in Leftwich's absence late last season, was not asked to do much with the running game dominating. He completed just 10-of-17 passes for 87 yards, adding some timely runs of his own.

"It was huge to have the run game today," Garrard said. "Whenever you get the run game going, that's going to make a good day for you."

Garrard deflected any questions regarding him starting next week.

"That's not my decision to make," Garrard said. "I feel like whenever my number is called, I'm ready to go out and play. Whatever decisions Jack makes, I'll live with it and move on."

Garrard improved his overall record to 6-3 as a starter, including wins in five of his last six outings. "Obviously, I made the decision to go with David today," Del Rio said. "I think we're going to have a lot of time when we get back to Jacksonville to talk about quarterbacks.

"Let's enjoy this win tonight and we'll have plenty of time to talk about the timetable for Byron (Leftwich) returning and all of that. I just don't want to get into speculative questions, what-if scenarios and hypotheticals."

Led by McNabb, the Eagles entered the contest averaging 417.1 yards per game. However, they came nowhere near that total against the Jaguars, who again were without Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud. Linebacker Mike Petersen and defensive end Reggie Hayward already have been lost for the season.

Philadelphia (4-4) managed just 228 total yards and 14 first downs in its third straight loss. The Eagles' three previous losses this season came on the game's final play.

McNabb also endured his worst game of the season as he completed just 18-of-34 passes for 161 yards and was sacked four times.

"From an offensive standpoint, it was one of the worst games I've ever been a part of," McNabb said. "I can do a lot. I'm going to try to make sure that it won't happen again."

The Eagles also continued their penchant for mistakes. They committed eight penalties for 50 yards.

"Can't play football like that," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We can't have guys jumping offsides, penalties, dropped balls, you name it."

In windy conditions, the Jaguars also won the battle of field position. Their first scoring drive started at the Eagles' 48 following a 35-yard punt by Dirk Johnson.

Garrard made the big play on the ensuing drive with a 13-yard run on 4th-and-3 to the 15.

"To be able to move like I can definitely gave us an edge," Garrard said. "It was definitely a good day for mobile quarterbacks."

Taylor then busted up the middle for a TD on the next play.

"I think my grandmother could have scored on that play," Taylor said. "I didn't get touched until I crossed that (goal line)."

Taylor also had a 51-yard touchdown run in the second quarter nullified on a holding penalty on right tackle Maurice Williams.

It hardly mattered though since the Jaguars held the Eagles to 75 yards and four first downs in the half. Philadelphia went three-and-out on its first four possessions, drawing boos and mock cheers from the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.

"I didn't get them ready to go," Reid said. "Obviously, we came out flat and it starts with me. It was embarrassing on my part and the job that I did and it trickled down to the players and coaches."

The Jaguars put together a drive of nine plays - all runs - for 24 yards to increase the lead in the third quarter. Jones-Drew had a three-yard run on 4th-and-1 to the Philadelphia 18.

After the drive stalled, Josh Scobee kicked a 40-yard field goal, giving the Jaguars a 10-0 lead.

McNabb directed a 13-play, 59-yard drive, leading to David Akers' 25-yard field goal with 70 seconds left in the third quarter, pulling the Eagles within 10-3.

"For it to take 3 1/2 quarters for us to get things rolling, that's something I've never visualized happening," McNabb said.

However, the Jaguars answered with an 11-play, 62-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes. Scobee kicked a 27-yard field goal with 9:28 remaining to make it 13-3.

Jacksonville, which plays its next three games at home, also used some comments made by ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski as motivation for the game. The former Philadelphia quarterback called the Jaguars "mentally weak" following their 27-7 loss at Houston last week.

"I felt challenged by some comments that were made this week," Del Rio said. "Our team was talked about by 'Mr. Eagle' (Jaworski) here in town. They weren't the kind of comments I take lightly."