Baseball | Basketball | Football | Hockey |
College | Pro: NFL |

Indianapolis Colts top Oakland Raiders 21-14
Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007
Preview | Boxscore

*Jaguars wrap up playoff berth*

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars did not waste any time setting up a playoff-clinching party.

David Garrard threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for one as the Jaguars bolted to a 25-point halftime lead en route to a 49-11 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders.

Fred Taylor and Maurice-Jones Drew each rushed for a touchdown as Jacksonville scored the most points in franchise history and wrapped up a wild card berth with its third consecutive victory.

The victory locked up the No. 5 seed for the Jaguars, setting up a first-round playoff matchup against either the San Diego Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers.

Taylor rushed for 111 yards on just seven carries to record his fifth straight 100-yard performance. He helped set the tone as Jacksonville went ahead on its first play from scrimmage.

Snubbed in the Pro Bowl voting earlier in the week, Taylor broke an initial tackle and, aided by some excellent downfield blocking, rambled 62 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

It was the 69th career touchdown for Taylor, tying the franchise record held by former wide receiver Jimmy Smith.

Jones-Drew doubled the advantage with a 14-yard scoring run with 3:21 left in the opening period. The big play in the seven-play, 84-yard drive was a 43-yard reception from Garrard to Jones-Drew.

The Raiders then inserted rookie JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick, at quarterback in place of Josh McCown, and he promptly threw a pair of interceptions.

The first actually benefited the Raiders. Reggie Nelson picked off Russell but fumbled the ball away, leading to a 43-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski to cut it to 14-3 with 13:59 left in the half.

Jacksonville turned the game into a rout soon thereafter with 35 unanswered points. Scott Starks returned a punt 56 yards to set up Garrard's 2-yard TD pass to Greg Jones.

Terry Cousin then picked off Russell, leading to Garrard's 2-yard run and a 28-3 cushion with 6:08 to play in the half.

It could have been worse for the Raiders, but linebacker Kirk Morrison intercepted Garrard at the goal line in the final minute of the half.

Oakland defensive tackle Warren Sapp was ejected after he and defensive end Derrick Burgess were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with 21 seconds left in the half.

Garrard threw his second TD pass in the third quarter, a 37-yarder to Matt Jones to boost the lead to 35-3.

That ended the day for Garrard, who finished 11-of-18 for 199 yards, two TDs and one interception before he was relieved by Quinn Gray.

Jacksonville's Reggie Williams set a team record by catching his ninth touchdown pass of the season in the fourth quarter, eclipsing the previous mark held by Smith.

Russell completed 7-of-23 passes for 83 yards and three interceptions for the Raiders, but he tossed a 2-yard TD to tight end Zach Miller with seven seconds to play.



More Sports
» Golf News

Local Teams
Ardmore
» Football
» Basketball
» Baseball
» Softball
Plainview
» Football
» Basketball
» Baseball
» Softball
Dickson
» Football
» Basketball
» Baseball
» Softball
Lone Grove
» Football
» Basketball
» Baseball
» Softball
Wilson
Healdton
Marietta
Madill
Fox
Ringling
Kingston
Sulphur
Davis
Tishomingo
Springer
OSD
Turner
Thackerville

Area Teams
ECU
SOSU

Contents and design © copyright 2001-2003 by Ardmoreite.com and Morris Digital Works