Jaguars Spoil Steelers’ Comeback Effort, David Garrard Leads Jacksonville to Win

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard was making throws he hadn’t made all season. Bad throws. One of the main reasons the Jags were in the playoffs with an 11-5 record was the consistent, virtually error-free play of one David Garrard. That’s the main reason head coach Jack Del Rio sent Byron Leftwich packing and handed the starting job to David. But with a push of playoff pressure, David had already thrown two INTs. Big deal? Well, in the playoffs, it most certainly is. But factor this in — he had only thrown three all season!

In this Wild Card playoff game, these weren’t just accidental interceptions. These were awful decisions thrown into ample coverage. This was not like David Garrard. In the process, Jacksonville had squandered an 18-point fourth quarter lead and given the Pittsburgh Steelers all the momentum they would need to achieve the biggest final quarter comeback in the history of the NFL. Then the Jags took it back. David Garrard took it back. On a 4th and two, David ran 32 yards to the Pittsburgh 11 to essentially seal the victory (Jags 31, Steelers 29 on a Josh Scobee FG) — the play of the year so far for Jacksonville. And that play was everything I like about David Garrard. Mobile, elusive, smart. For as big as he is, he moves quickly. He’s not fast … there’s a difference. And once he found himself in the Steelers’ secondary and close to contact, he had both hands wrapped around the football as if he was carrying his own child toward the endzone. This is a quarterback who is thinking. This is a quarterback I want on my football team.

Are the Jags a team of destiny? Well, until they meet the Patriots they are. So, I guess that means no. But I like what they bring to the playoff table in the meantime. They run the ball and stop the run. Their QB rarely makes mistakes. And look at the depth. Here’s just one example. When monster DT John Henderson went down with a strained hamstring, enter Derek Landri. The De La Salle high school product (see also Maurice Jones-Drew) and Notre Dame rookie only had one tackle but he added a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery for very good measure. Now that’s productivity off the bench. Depth will always be a key ingredient to any successful championship run.

No, I’m not predicting the Jags will get to the Super Bowl. I don’t think they’ll get past New England or Indy, but they will make those teams play four full quarters. Jacksonville is going to make life miserable for the rest of the AFC.