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Taylor, Jaguars beat Bills for third win in row

Nov 25, 2007 - 11:38 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Fred Taylor gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a maximum performance in minimal playing time.

Taylor rushed for 104 yards on 14 carries to help the Jaguars post a 36-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Recording his first 100-yard effort since December 10, 2006, Taylor scored on a 50-yard run as Jacksonville (8-3) won its third straight game to stay within one game of front-running Indianapolis in the AFC South.

"Saw a good gear there," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "He doesn't surprise me, I see it in practice. Fred has some juice and looked good today."

David Garrard threw for 296 yards and a later touchdown and Josh Scobee booted five field goals for the Jaguars, who sent the Bills (5-6) to their second straight loss.

The Bills, who played without injured rookie running back Marshawn Lynch, managed to stay in striking range until Garrard broke it open with a 59-yard scoring pass to Reggie Williams with 2:39 to play.

"We kept the game within eight points until late in the game but we still did not make enough plays to win it," Buffalo coach Dick Jauron said.

Maurice Jones-Drew capped the scoring with a 17-yard run with 1:43 to play. That carry allowed Jones-Drew to finish with positive yardage, totaling 10 yards on 10 carries.

"They are a pretty fast defense," Jones-Drew said.

Garrard finished 23-of-37 and remains the only starting quarterback in the league to not throw an interception.

"I like a lot of what I'm seeing from David," Del Rio said. "He has good fundamentals in terms of set up and balance with his feet. He's just operating at a very high level and giving us a chance to win."

Conversely, Bills quarterback J.P. Losman was 27-of-40 for 211 yards with a touchdown and two costly interceptions.

"I could have done better and I could have done some things to help our team win this game," Losman said. "I put us into a bad situation with the turnovers."

The Jaguars got off to a great start when Taylor burst through a huge hole off right tackle and rambled 50 yards for just his second TD of the season for a 7-0 lead with 9:40 to play in the opening quarter.

"The days of old are still the days of today," Williams said. "Freddy is still a great back. Anytime I can spring him for some big yards it is a great thing."

Scobee booted a pair of field goals - of 46 and 33 yards - to push the margin to 13-0 just over four minutes into the second quarter. The second kick was set up by Sammy Knight's interception of Losman.

"They did a good job all day, and on the first interception the guy (Knight) made an excellent play," Losman said. "I would have liked to have that play back."

Buffalo, which had its four-game winning streak snapped in last week's 56-10 drubbing to the New England Patriots, answered with a 10-play, 72-yard drive on its ensuing possession.

Losman completed 6-of-7 passes for 56 yards on the march, capped by a 10-yard scoring pass to running back Anthony Thomas to pull within 13-7 with 6:03 left in the first half. It was the first TD reception of Thomas' seven-year career.

Jacksonville gave the Bills an opening when, facing a 4th-and-1 late in the half, Maurice Jones-Drew was dropped for a six-yard loss by Aaron Schobel with 1:56 to play.

Buffalo returned the favor when Losman fumbled on a quarterback sneak, leading to Scobee's 22-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half that made it 16-7.

"We were able to slow down their major weapons and get us a nice workmanlike victory, so good to see," Del Rio said.