Our hopes are gone

From Sports.yahoo.com:

Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars took Houston lightly.

The Texans certainly believed so. The scoreboard may have indicated it, too.

Domanick Davis ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown and Houston crippled Jacksonville's postseason chances with a 21-0 victory Sunday.

``I knew we had a good chance coming in here, but for some reason these guys don't respect us and they came out and played like it,'' Texans defensive tackle Seth Payne said after Houston held the Jaguars to a franchise-low 126 yards.

The Jaguars, coming off a big win at Green Bay, looked nothing like a team with so much to gain.

The offense had some excuses. Running back Fred Taylor missed the game with a sprained left knee, ending his streak of consecutive starts at 46 games, and quarterback Byron Leftwich sustained a mild concussion in the first quarter.

The shutout was the first in team history for Houston and marked the first time the Jaguars have been blanked since a 44-0 drubbing at Detroit on Dec. 17, 1995.

This one could be far more costly than that loss to the Lions in Jacksonville's inaugural season.

Because Baltimore lost at Pittsburgh, the Jaguars (8-7) could have taken control of the final AFC wild-card spot with a victory against Houston (7-8). Instead, they will need to win next week at Oakland and have other teams lose to return to the postseason for the first time since 1999.

``They're sitting there worried about Baltimore and Pittsburgh. They should have been worried a little bit about us,'' Texans defensive end Gary Walker said.

The Jags have no one to blame but themselves -- because they did little on offense and couldn't stop Davis all afternoon.

``We just didn't show up,'' Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said.

Leftwich struggled from the start. He misfired on his first three passes and fumbled early. He picked up the loose ball and then took a shot to the head when sacked by Robaire Smith.

He missed a play before returning on the next series. But he wasn't the same. He overthrew receivers and looked lost in the pocket at times. Coach Jack Del Rio benched him with 4:04 to play, replacing him with David Garrard.

``He told me I looked kind of woozy. I couldn't do anything about it,'' said Leftwich, who still appeared dazed 30 minutes after the game.

Leftwich finished 6-of-14 for 35 yards with an interception.

``I was hit pretty hard, but I was able to come back,'' Leftwich said. ``I don't know how much it affected me. It's something we're going to have to take a hard look at Monday and see if I was moving around the same.''

The Texans, meanwhile, moved the ball with ease. They finished with 333 yards, much of it thanks to Davis. His previous career high was 129 yards, set last season against the New York Jets and tied last month against Tennessee.

Davis also caught five passes for 39 yards.

``You missed one tackle with that guy, and it was like he was out of the gate,'' Jags linebacker Mike Peterson said.

The Texans scored on the opening possession, a 65-yard drive capped by Davis' 1-yard run. They made it 14-0 in the second after Davis broke loose for a 44-yard gain and then Andre Johnson made a spinning 10-yard catch in the end zone.

They added a defensive score with 3:11 to play. Antwan Peek picked up a fumble and returned it 66 yards for his first career touchdown.

``This is the best defensive game we've had in our three-year history,'' coach Dom Capers said. ``It shows you the kind of pride and character they have.''

The Texans overcame three muffed punt returns -- they recovered two of them and the Jags missed a field goal following the other -- and two interceptions by David Carr to sweep the series against Jacksonville and finish 4-2 in the AFC South.

``This is a team we've had success against, and for some reason they don't respect us,'' Payne said. ``I hope they keep disrespecting us.''

We had a good season although we can't make it to the playoffs, let's finish the season off strong against the Raiders.

Over coming the cold and the Packers

From Sports.yahoo.com:

Who knew the Jacksonville Jaguars were a cold-weather team?

Byron Leftwich threw two touchdown passes, Fred Taylor rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown and Rashean Mathis picked off Brett Favre twice, helping the Jaguars (8-6) stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race with a 28-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Temperatures were in the single digits and the wind chill was well below zero.

``A team that plays in Florida in the 80s and 70s, you just can't condition your body for the temperatures you are going to feel,'' Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. ``But you can condition your mind and I felt we were ready from that standpoint.''

Said Packers coach Mike Sherman: ``They have the talent to play in any conditions.''

Jaguars safety Donovin Darius was ejected for a helmet-stripping, clothesline hit that sent wide receiver Robert Ferguson to the hospital with 4:41 remaining. Ferguson temporarily lost feeling in his legs, but regained feeling in an ambulance.

He was diagnosed with a sprained neck, and team trainer Pepper Burruss said Ferguson had movement and sensation in his arms and legs Sunday night. Ferguson was admitted to Bellin Hospital for observation overnight.

For once, it was the Packers who played as if they couldn't wait to get inside.

Favre turned over the ball four times and fell to 31-4 at home after Dec. 1, losing for just the second time in 40 cold-weather games at home.

Nevertheless, the Packers (8-6) became the ninth team in NFL history to reach the playoffs after a 1-4 start. They clinched before kickoff because Chicago, Dallas, Carolina and New York all lost in the run-of-the-mill NFC.

``We're in the playoffs?'' Packers lineman Mark Tauscher responded incredulously. ``I'll take your word for it.''

The Packers fell into a tie with Minnesota atop the NFC North after the Vikings edged Detroit 28-27 Sunday. They travel to Minneapolis for a Christmas Eve matinee that will decide the division.

``Our goal is to win the division and that is still out there,'' Sherman said.


Favre hit Antonio Chatman with a 6-yard touchdown throw and found Donald Driver for the 2-point conversion to pull Green Bay to 28-25 with 1:08 left. But Jacksonville safety Nick Sorensen recovered the onside kick and the Jaguars handed Green Bay its fourth loss at Lambeau Field this season.

Leftwich was battered all afternoon, bruising his left wrist in the second quarter on a hit by Cullen Jenkins, but he hung in to guide the Jaguars to a season-high points total. Favre also was hurt in the second quarter and played with tape on his left wrist and thumb after jamming it into the ground.

The drive ended when safety Deon Grant stripped the ball away from Driver in the end zone.

Driver's 32-yard catch gave Green Bay a 17-14 lead in the third quarter, but Taylor put the Jaguars ahead for good 90 seconds later with a 32-yard run.

Then Mathis intercepted in the end zone on first-and-goal from the 3, ``the easiest pick I ever had,'' Mathis said.

``I hope I never do that again,'' Favre said.

Then, Del Rio went on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and rookie Greg Jones rewarded the risk with a touchdown that gave Jacksonville a 28-17 lead with 10 minutes left.

``We were ready for the cold mentally,'' Del Rio said. ``And we did not let the elements dictate how we played.''

The Packers sure did.

It was typical Green Bay winter weather: 12 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of minus-3. As Leftwich said, ``This was beyond cold.''

But it was the Packers who looked completely out of their element.

Green Bay committed 12 penalties for 101 yards, Ryan Longwell's streak of 45 straight field goals inside 40 yards ended and Ahman Green fumbled at the Jaguars 10, one of four Packers turnovers inside the Jacksonville 23.

``They beat us in supposedly our elements,'' Tauscher said. ``The AFC is just a better conference this year.''

About the only thing that went right for the Packers was safety Darren Sharper's heads-up touchdown.

Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila pummeled Leftwich and the ball squirted loose for what appeared to be an incompletion. While linebackers Hannibal Navies and Nick Barnett walked away from the ball, Jacksonville guard Vince Manuwai nonchalantly picked it up. Sharper came rushing in, poked it away, scooped it up and scampered 15 yards into the end zone.

Leftwich didn't play his best game but wit the help from the Jag defense and offense, we pulled off an upset over the Red Hot Green Bay Packers. Lets keep up the good work you guys, and fight for that wild card slot!

Del Rio focused on GB

By Vic Ketchman, jaguars.com senior editor

Jack Del Rio deflected questions at Monday's press conference about Sunday's play-calling and what needs to happen for the Jaguars to make the playoffs. Instead, Del Rio dedicated all of his attention to this Sunday's game in Green Bay.

“Do you believe that if your team wins all of its remaining games it will make the playoffs?” Del Rio was asked.

“I believe our focus needs to be squarely on the Green Bay Packers, then we'll worry about that,” Del Rio said.

A win over the Packers could put the Jaguars (7-6) in the driver's seat for a wild-card playoff berth. The Bills (7-6) are at Cincinnati, the Ravens (8-5) are at Indianapolis and the Broncos (8-5) are at Kansas City. The Jaguars figure to gain ground on at least one – maybe all three – of their wild-card competitors. It's also to the Jaguars' advantage that they have defeated the Bills and Broncos, which gives the Jaguars a tie-breaker advantage.

Sunday's game in Green Bay will mark the second big-game atmosphere in the last three weeks. “This next game is the biggest game on the schedule for us,” Del Rio said.

“Lambeau Field, Brett Favre; what an exciting opportunity. I'm looking for guys who love football,” he added.

Del Rio needs guys who love to play football in cold weather, too. Kickoff for Sunday's game was moved back from one p.m. to 4:15 p.m., which means temperatures are expected to drop into the 20's for the start of the game and the Jaguars have never won a game when the temperature has been lower than 29 degrees.

“It doesn't matter if it's on concrete in the parking lot. Good teams find a way to win,” Del Rio said. “I think it's a mentality,” he added of playing in the cold. “I think you go play.”

The Jaguars threw 45 passes in their 22-3 win over Chicago on Sunday, despite the Bears' 27th ranking in run-defense. After the game, Del Rio said the Jaguars turned hard to the pass because the Bears were crowding the line of scrimmage with eight defenders.

Del Rio said the 45-28 pass-run imbalance did not bother him. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Part of what makes this sport so great is there is so much strategy involved and everybody thinks they have the right way. As far as addressing a particular play-call, I wouldn't care to address that today,” Del Rio said.

“Game balls” were given to defensive tackle John Henderson and linebacker Daryl Smith for their play on defense, to offensive right tackle Maurice Williams for his performance against Bears pass-rusher Adewale Ogunleye, and to special teams coverage man Juran Bolden.

Del Rio singled out rookies Reggie Williams, Smith, Brian Jones, Ernest Wilford, Greg Jones and Josh Scobee, and talked about the officiating crew's propensity for calling penalties (21 combined).

“There was no doubt in my mind we were ready to play,” Del Rio said of his team's state of mind coming off its heartbreaking loss to Pittsburgh.