Week 12 Game Recap: Jacksonville Jaguars 24, Buffalo Bills 27

What you need to know

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars played well offensively, but ended up losing a very close game due to miscues on defense and special teams that contributed to some of Buffalo’s points. On offense, Jacksonville ran very effectively, and they used that aspect of their offense to set up their passing game, which featured mostly short passes.

Jacksonville ran the ball well, with Taylor and Jones-Drew posting good numbers. Both running backs played well, and finished with a combined 30 carries for 179 yards and one touchdown. Taylor ran a variety of plays, at times showcasing very good footwork and making defenders miss him, and other times running over defenders and fighting for extra yards. Taylor ended with 101 yards rushing on 22 carries. Jones-Drew displayed his explosiveness several times during the game. In addition to his 78 yards rushing on just eight rushes, he amassed 47 yards on five receptions. Jones-Drew repeatedly proved to be difficult to bring down, using his exceptional ability to change direction to his advantage, as well as driving through tacklers for extra yards. This was exemplified on consecutive plays in the second quarter where he made multiple defenders miss him on a 24 yard run, then followed that up with a powerful effort that resulted in him running for a 14 yard touchdown.

Jaguars’ quarterback David Garrard followed a game plan that called for him to make shorter passes. Garrard proved to be accurate, with just six incompletions, but had just 132 yards passing. He did have two passing touchdowns and no interceptions and added 28 yards running, including a 16 yard run on a fourth and 14 play with less than two minutes remaining in the game that led to Jacksonville’s tying score. Garrard spread the ball around, but targeted Matt Jones the most in the end zone, in an effort to take advantage of his size. He connected with Jones twice in the end zone, but one of the catches was made out of bounds. He also threw to tight ends George Wrighster and Marcedes Lewis in the end zone. He played a relatively safe game and kept his team in the game as a result.

Jacksonville’s defense was missing several starters, but remained aggressive in their approach. However, they did allow several big plays, including two touchdown runs by Willis McGahee and an 82 yard punt return. They contributed to these with several untimely penalties, which kept drives alive that led to the Bills scoring. Their defensive miscues were further compounded on a play where one of their defensive backs fumbled after making an interception. The Bills recovered the fumble and went on to score a touchdown.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills’ offense took advantage of opportunities when they had chances to score, and made enough plays to help come away with the victory, including a final drive that resulted in the game winning field goal. They began by successfully targeting Dee Webb, a rookie cornerback playing in place of injured starter Brian Williams, being able to complete several passes against him, as well as a long pass interference play. While they only had one series inside the red zone, the Bills were able to capitalize on that opportunity by running McGahee in for a touchdown.

Although he only had 12 rushing attempts in the game, McGahee looked very good in his return from the rib injury that had sidelined him. He gained 63 yards on those rushing attempts, and added two touchdowns. McGahee showed very good lateral movement and quickness, making defenders miss on several carries. He displayed good power on his first touchdown, which was from four yards, and good speed, bursting outside and outrunning the pursuit on a scoring run of 30 yards. He ran without any noticeable effects of his injury.

J.P. Losman played well, connecting on several intermediate passes during the game. He took some shots in the deep passing game, and while he only connected on one such attempt, he was able to get a pass interference penalty on one such pass that resulted in a 43 yard gain for his team. Losman showed his ability to scramble and eluded several tackles that would have resulted in sacks. His most important such effort came on Buffalo’s final play, where he connected with Roscoe Parrish on a 30 yard reception that put them in field goal range and led to their winning field goal. Losman targeted Lee Evans the most in the first half, when he was defended by a rookie, but after the Jaguars made a defensive adjustment in the second half, he looked to other receivers and featured shorter passes. Losman finished with 169 yards passing with no touchdowns and one interception. He completed 21 of 28 passes.

The Bills’ defense was not very successful defending the Jaguars rushing attack, but they were effective in keeping Jacksonville’s passing attack off balance and reduced to conservative passes. They forced Garrard to scramble throughout the game, and did not give up many big plays in the passing game.

What you ought to know

QB David Garrard, Pass: 16 - 22 - 132 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 28 - 0

Garrard was solid in managing the game, and proved to be adept at making short quick throws. He was under pressure from Buffalo’s pass rush throughout the game, but made good decisions as to when to throw the ball short or to scramble. He spread the ball around to his various receivers, usually throwing short passes and relying on them to gain yards after the catch. He ran successfully when he had to, and was able to pick up a couple of first downs. Garrard seemed comfortable in carrying out the game plan, although he was not asked to take many chances in the deep passing game.

RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 22 - 101 - 0 (1 targets)

Taylor ran very well and seemed to be on the verge of exploding for very long gains several times, but was tackled by multiple defenders who prevented them. He still managed to gain over 100 yards rushing, and was also featured on one series inside the red zone, although he was unable to score. Taylor ran just as effectively late in the game as he did early, and seemed to benefit from the rest he is able to have during the game due to Jones-Drew’s productivity.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 8 - 78 - 1, Rec: 5 - 47 - 0 (5 targets)

Jones-Drew played very well, and had another very productive game. Once again he displayed great strength and elusiveness, using both traits to gain yards when it appeared he would be stopped. In addition, Jones-Drew also demonstrated tremendous explosiveness, turning several plays that appeared to be for minimal gains into significant gains by blowing by defenders with a combination of speed and superior change of direction skills. He remained in the game for stretches at a time and has evolved into a very important part of the Jaguars offense, staying in the game for entire series at a time, including some that were in the red zone.

WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (5 targets)

Williams was used on short passing plays. Two of his receptions were wide receiver screens that were in essence lateral passes that he turned into positive yards. He did not have much of an impact otherwise.

WR Matt Jones, Rec: 2 - 8 - 1 (3 targets)

Jones was not targeted in the first half, but two of the passes thrown to him were in the end zone, where he used his height and leaping ability to catch them, although one of them was caught outside of the end zone.

WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets)

Wilford was also not targeted in the first half, and caught the only pass thrown to him.

TE George Wrighster, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (5 targets)

Wrighster made a couple of good catches, but also dropped a pass at Buffalo’s two yard line and then committed false start penalties on the next two plays, which were at the end of the game when Jacksonville was attempting to tie the score. Fortunately for Jacksonville, they overcame those penalties to score a touchdown.

TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets)

Lewis was targeted just once, and made the most of it, catching the pass for a touchdown.

PK Josh Scobee 1 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points

Scobee had an average game, making all three of his point after attempts, but missing one of his two field goal attempts, which was from 42 yards. He successful field goal was from 27 yards.

JAX Rush Defense

Jacksonville’s rush defense was hot and cold in their limited opportunities. They stopped McGahee behind the line of scrimmage a couple of times, but gave up two rushing touchdowns, and ended up allowing him to average 5.25 yards per rushing attempt.

JAX Pass Defense

Jacksonville’s pass defense was good. In the first half, they gave up several pass plays to the side manned by a rookie replacement for one of their starting cornerbacks, but made adjustments in the second half and were more effective. They were able to generate a solid pass rush, and although they did not record a sack, that was more a result of Losman escaping the grasp of defenders than an inability to get to him. The secondary played better in the second half, but did allow a 30 yard pass play late in the game that led to the winning field goal.

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 21 - 28 - 169 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 0 - 0

Losman was effective, though not spectacular. He showed an ability to escape the pass rush and make throws on the run several times. There were several times when he was in the grasp of pass rushers, but he escaped and was able to throw the ball away to prevent negative plays. Losman did not take too many chances deep, but showcased a strong arm when he did throw long passes. After focusing on Lee Evans in the first half, Losman adjusted to the Jaguars’ coverage adjustment and spread the ball around more evenly to his receivers.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 12 - 63 - 2, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets)

McGahee did not appear hindered by his rib injury, and ran with good power and speed in his limited carries. He was very productive with two touchdown runs, and was close to breaking free for big gains on other carries.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 4 - 0 - 0, Rec: 3 - 13 - 0 (3 targets)

Thomas was not a factor running the ball, and was used as an outlet receiver in the passing game.

RB Shaud Williams, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets)

Williams’ contributions were minimal.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 5 - 58 - 0 (9 targets)

Evans was targeted seven times in the first half, but only twice in the second half when the Jaguars assigned cornerback Rashean Mathis to follow him not matter where he lined up. Evans was the recipient of a couple deep passes, and was able to get a pass interference penalty called on one of those pass plays. The other deep pass intended for him was underthrown. He ran a variety of shorter routes crisply and showed good hands, catching the passes that were within his reach.

WR Peerless Price, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (3 targets)

Price was used on short pass plays and one reverse run.

WR Roscoe Parrish, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 2 - 36 - 0 (2 targets)

Parrish had an excellent game. His 30 yard reception with ten seconds remaining in the game set up the game winning field goal. He also had an electrifying 82 yard punt return for a touchdown in which he made several defenders miss, then ran with tremendous speed, lost his balance, somehow regained it as well as his speed and went in for the score.

WR Andre Davis, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

Davis was thrown two short passes and was not otherwise involved in the passing game.

TE Robert Royal, Rush: 1 - -9 - 0, Rec: 3 - 14 - 0 (5 targets)

While Royal’s receiving numbers were pedestrian, he made a very important play, recovering a fumble by a Jacksonville defender after an interception. That play allowed the Bills to retain possession and they subsequently scored a touchdown.

TE Brad Cieslak, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (4 targets)

Cieslak made the most of his targets, and proved to be a handful to tackle.

PK Rian Lindell 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points

Lindell had a very good game. He made all three of his extra point attempts, and both of his field goal attempts. Lindell’s first field goal was from 21 yards, and the game-winning one from 42 yards.

BUF Rush Defense

Buffalo could not stop the Jaguars’ rushing game giving up 207 rushing yards and a 5.91 yards per carry average, as well as one rushing touchdown. They were unable to gain much penetration into the Jaguars’ backfield on running plays, and invariably made tackles after Jacksonville’s runners had crossed the line of scrimmage.

BUF Pass Defense

Buffalo’s pass defense was aggressive throughout the game, and was able to successfully apply pressure to Garrard throughout the game. Although Garrard focused on short passes throughout the game, the Bills were still able to sack him three times, and forced him to scramble to avoid the pass rush on several other occasions. Although they allowed two passing touchdowns, both were passes that were one and three yards respectively, and as much a result of having to respect the threat of a run as good pass plays.