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Jaguars hold off Chargers in Garrard's return

Nov 18, 2007 - 11:13 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- David Garrard threw two touchdown passes in his return to the lineup and safety Sammy Knight intercepted Philip Rivers with 1:26 left as the Jacksonville Jaguars held on for a 24-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Garrard had missed three games since sustaining a high-ankle sprain on October 22 against the Indianapolis Colts. In his absence, Quinn Gray led the Jaguars to a 2-1 record, including a critical 28-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans last week.

In his return, Garrard directed the Jaguars (7-3) to 10 first-quarter points. Placekicker Josh Scobee opened the scoring with a 48-yard field goal, and halfback Maurice Jones-Drew scored from 1-yard out to put Jacksonville ahead, 10-0.

"David played well," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "He came off the three-week break with the ankle very sharp and made some plays down the field and protected the ball."

The Chargers (5-5) got on the board in the second quarter with a 23-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding, but Garrard struck right back.

On the ensuing possession, Garrard capped off a nine-play, 73-yard drive with a 36-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Reggie Williams with 4:33 left in the second quarter to put the Jaguars ahead, 17-3, at the half.

The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, with Chargers halfback LaDainian Tomlinson scoring on a 6-yard run to open the second half.

"He (Tomlinson) is really tough to defend and tough to slow down," Del Rio said. "The more carries he gets, the harder it gets to get him slowed down. That was one of our keys coming into the game."

Jacksonville answered later in the third quarter when Garrard threw a 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis to make it 24-10.

"(Lewis) should have a few more (TDs)," Garrard said. "I think I have overthrown him on a few of those balls down in the red zone. He threw his hand up, I knew he was wide open."

Garrard finished 15-of-24 for 189 yards. Halfback Fred Taylor rushed 20 times for 85 yards to lead Jacksonville's ground game.

San Diego pulled within a touchdown with 5:13 left when Rivers threw a 24-yard TD pass to tight end Antonio Gates.

But after forcing Jacksonville to punt, Rivers was intercepted by Knight to close things out.

"This is a confident defense and we are all confident players," Knight said. "We know when we're put in position, we can make plays."

Rivers finished 22-of-40 for 309 yards and two interceptions. Tomlinson rushed 16 times for 62 yards and also caught five passes for 93 yards.

"We've spend the last three weeks out on the road, it's good to be back in front of our crowd," Del Rio said. "It's been a long time and this was a big win here at home."