The Jags had breakdowns on special teams and defense that cost them this game.  Chris Hanson had a punt blocked that was recovered by KC’s Bernard Pollard in the end zone for a TD and that hurt the Jags big-time.  David Garrard started the game and completed 10 of 18 passes for 140 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 15 yards.  Quinn Gray played most of the second half and almost brought the Jags all the way back.  Gray completed 13 of 22 passes for 166 yards and carried the ball 2 times for 26 yards (13.0 ypc) with 2 TDs!  Maurice Drew carried the ball 12 times for 46 yards (3.8 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards.  Fred Taylor carried the ball 7 times for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) and he caught 1 pass…a 26 yard TD!  Matt Jones (5 rec, 104 yards) and Reggie Williams (6 rec, 90 yards) each played well for the Jags.

DE Paul Spicer led the defense of the Jags with 9 tackles.  The Chiefs ran the ball 40 times for 170 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Chiefs completed 16 of 25 passes for 225 net yards passing.

The Jaguars have lost two tough games in a row.  The Chiefs broke a 3-game losing streak last week with a 20-9 win over the Oakland Raiders.

The Jaguars will be running the football the minute they step off of the team bus in KC.  Fred Taylor (1,120 yards rushing), Maurice Drew (895 yards rushing) and QB David Garrard (235 yards rushing) should all find alot of running room against a Chiefs defense that is allowing 121.0 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Jaguars don’t really have much speed at WR, so they will try to spread the ball around when they decide to throw the football.

The Chiefs will run Larry Johnson (1,651 yards rushing) right at the Jaguars defense which is allowing 86.0 yards rushing per game and only 3.4 yards per carry.  The Chiefs will also keep the passes short which should help out Trent Green who has looked lost at times this season.  Green must always be aware of who Rashean Mathis is covering, because he’s the big playmaker on the Jaguars defense.

The Chiefs should win this game because they generally play well at home, while the Jaguars are not a very good road team.

The Jaguars can clinch a playoff berth with:  a win, a New York Jets loss and Cincinnati and Tennessee both lose or tie.

The Jags will probably end this season in disappointment as they should have won a couple of games that they lost this season.

The Jaguars tried hard to defend their home turf, but the Patriots were just a tad better yesterday.  David Garrard had a very efficient game throwing the football as he completed 17 of 23 passes for 195 yards and a TD.  Maurice Drew had a monster game with 19 carries for 131 yards (6.9 ypc) and 2 TDs.  He also caught 6 passes for 41 yards.  Matt Jones led the way for the Jags receiving corps with 4 catches for 69 yards and a TD.

The Jags defense got abused a little bit by the Patriots.  Tom Brady was spreading the ball all over the place and was taking advantages of the mis-matches on the field.  The Patriots ran the ball 30 times and got a hard earned 117 yards rushing (3.9 ypc).  The Patriots dissected the Jags defense as they completed 28 of 39 passes for 242 net yards passing.

The Jags fell to 8-7 on the season and will need a win and help to make the playoffs next week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost a game they dominated last week 24-17 to the Titans.  The New England Patriots have won 4 out of their last 5 games, including a 40-7 beatdown of the Houston Texans last week.

When the Jaguars have the football they will be looking to run first.  With Fred Taylor (1,120 yards rushing) probably missing this game, Maurice Drew (764 yards rushing) will have a heavy workload.  Look for Alvin Pearman and David Garrard to each contribute some, that is, if they have any luck against the tough Patriots run defense.  The Patriots are only allowing 87.7 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this season.  David Garrard has to spread the ball around in the passing game because none of the WRs on the Jaguars has stepped up his play this season.  Garrard had better be careful when throwing the football, because CB Asante Samuel has 8 interceptions so far this season and will make him pay for any mistakes with the ball.

When New England has the football, they might just spread the field and come out throwing the football first to set up the run.  Tom Brady (3,055 yards passing) is a master at finding weaknesses and exploiting them.  The Jags really have a good defense as they have held opposing QBs to a 63.8 rating so far this season.  Corey Dillon should shoulder most of the load in the running game, but every yard will be a tough one as the Jags allow only 83.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.

Something has to give in this game as one of the best road teams in the NFL (Patriots) visit one of the best home teams in the NFL (Jaguars).  The Patriots are 5-1 on the road and have outscored their opponents 156-64 in those games.  The Jaguars are 6-1 at home this season as they have scored 194 points and have allowed only 64 points in those games.

I have a hunch that the Jaguars are going to rise to the challenge and win this football game.