• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Jaguars win battle of Florida, beat Dolphins

Dec 4, 2006 - 12:16 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- David Garrard and the Jacksonville Jaguars cured their home woes in their home state.

Garrard threw for two first-half touchdowns and the Jaguars frustrated Joey Harrington en route to a 24-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

Matt Jones had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars (7-5), who improved to just 2-4 on the road. They have been a different team at home, going 5-1.

Garrard threw TD passes of 15 yards to Jones and 16 yards to tight end George Wrighster in the second quarter, helping the Jaguars grab a 17-7 halftime advantage.

"He has the natural ability to feel pressure and do good things on the run," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "He played well today. He made nice throws on touch passes and hit the big play when we needed it. Part of the plan was to open it up and let him throw the ball down the field. He executed very well."

In an efficient performance, Garrard completed 16-of-22 passes for 229 yards. He directed scoring drives of 95 and 91 yards.

Strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh and cornerback Rashean Mathis had second-quarter interceptions of Harrington, setting up both touchdowns.

Jacksonville improved to 3-1 all-time against Miami, including a 62-7 mauling in a divisional playoff game in 1999.

Harrington went 27-of-42 for 267 yards and touchdown with the two interceptions for the Dolphins (5-7), who had a four-game winning streak stopped.

The day started in impressive fashion for Harrington, who directed a game-opening 14-play, 80-yard drive that lasted nearly 7 1/2 minutes. He capped the march with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Marty Booker.

Jacksonville then took the rest of the quarter to move 47 yards in 12 plays. Scobee's 48-yard field goal as time expired in the period pulled the Jaguars within 7-3.

Midway through the second quarter, the Dolphins looked poised to increase the lead when they reached the Jaguars 5. But on 3rd-and-goal, Harrington had his pass intended for Chris Chambers, who had eight catches for 121 yards, intercepted by Sensabaugh in the end zone.

The Jaguars cashed in on the miscue, moving 95 yards in 11 plays, capped by Garrard's 15-yard TD pass to Jones on 3rd-and-8.

"We just made some plays," Jones said. "The offensive line gave Dave (Garrard) some time. Dave took the ball where it needed to be and the defense caused some turnovers for us."

On the Dolphins' ensuing possession, Harrington was intercepted by Mathis, who returned the ball seven yards to the Miami 33.

"It was big, it was a momentum shifter," said Mathis, who set a franchise single-season record with seven interceptions. "That's how we think, that's our mind frame. Anything we can do to help our offense, give them short field position and they'll go in and score. That's what they did."

Two plays later, Garrard found Wrighster for a 16-yard TD to make it 17-7 with 14 seconds left in the half.

Rookie Maurice Jones-Drew finished off a nine-play, 91-yard drive with a 32-yard TD run with 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Jacksonville a 24-7 advantage.

Fred Taylor carried the ground game for the Jaguars, rushing for 76 yards on 19 carries. Jones-Drew gained 46 yards on five attempts.

"We just didn't have our game today," Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas said. "It's frustrating because we've been playing so well, and we were creating turnovers. We didn't do much today with that. When we had to stop the run, we didn't do it. ... When you give up two big drives like we did, you're not going to win many games, and that's what we did. They made the plays."