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Jaguars grind out victory over Broncos

Sep 24, 2007 - 12:53 AM By Tony Desiere PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) - The Jacksonville Jaguars used both their running game and the clock on Sunday, beating the Denver Broncos, 23-14, at Invesco Field

The Jaguars rushed for 186 yards and took up nearly 39 minutes of clock to pick up the road win.

"I thought this was a great road win," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We knew Denver comes out fast and we had to be ready for it. We did that by controlling the clock."

Fred Taylor finished with 17 carries for 84 yards Jaguars quarterback David Garrard rushed 12 times for 52 yards.

Garrard, who is in his first full season as a starter, also threw for 154 yards on 14-of-20 passing.

"Denver is a tough defense," Garrard said. "We did a good job of run blocking and we felt there were places we could take advantage."

"He continues to progress and lead our offense," Del Rio said of Garrard. "He did a lot of things well with his feet and threw the ball well at key moments. When you see him improving, it makes you proud as a coach."

Jacksonville scored first on a 3-yard pass from Garrard to Reggie Williams with 13:09 left in the second quarter. The drive took 18 plays and ate up almost 12 minutes.

"I thought Jacksonville did a good job of controlling the tempo of the game," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "They kept our offense off the field in the first half. We usually do that to other teams, and they did that to us."

Denver (2-1) responded on the next drive by going 80 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Nate Jackson.

After that, it was all Jacksonville (2-1).

The Jaguars went up for good on their next possession. Greg Jones ran it in from 4 yards out to give Jacksonville a 14-7 lead. The drive was set up by a 42-yard kickoff return by Maurice Jones-Drew.

After Broncos running back Selvin Young fumbled on Denver's next possession, Jacksonville drove down to the Denver 1-yard line. With eight seconds left in the half, John Carney's 19-yard field goal gave the Jaguars a 17-7 lead to take into the locker room.

"It was a matter of control," Taylor said. "We knew we needed to get out there and control the game. They can hurt you if you're not careful. We did a great job of controlling the pace and getting points up."

The Jaguars added another field goal to start the second half when Broncos return man Dominik Hixon fumbled the kickoff at the Denver 18-yard line.

The Broncos fought back in the fourth quarter. Cutler drove the Broncos 60 yards in nine plays, finishing with a 6-yard touchdown run by Travis Henry.

Leading, 20-14, with over 12 minutes left, Jacksonville took the ball 82 yards to the Denver 1-yard line.

Needing only a field goal to make it a two-possession game, Jones-Drew fumbled the ball. Denver's Curome Cox recovered at the 4-yard line, giving the Broncos had new life.

That's when Jacksonville's defense made a deciding play. On 4th-and-10, Cutler's pass to tight end Daniel Graham was incomplete and the Broncos turned the ball, and the ballgame, over on downs.

"I didn't open up to the ball," Graham said. "It's a play I should make and I am disappointed with that."

"We saw it from the play before when they were two-deep," Shanahan said. "We saw Daniel open a few times and if they play two-deep, he was going to be open. He almost had it."

Cutler finished 16-for-23 with 222 yards and a touchdown. Henry was limited to 35 yards on 11 carries.