Garrard and Jones-Drew To Miss Season Finale

Added on Dec 30, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

The 8-7 Jacksonville Jaguars are still alive in the AFC playoff hunt. A victory over the Texans on Sunday coupled with a Colts loss to the Titans would give the Jags the AFC South title and punch their postseason ticket. However, the odds of those two things happening took a major hit yesterday when it was announced quarterback David Garrard will be sidelined after undergoing finger surgery. On top of that, it looks as if Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew will miss a second straight game due to his sprained right knee.

Obviously, the timing couldn’t be worse for Jacksonville. Garrard is enjoying his best season, but his overall improved play has been overshadowed by crucial turnovers that contributed to losses in the last two games. Starting in his place on Sunday will be former Bills quarterback Trent Edwards, who was claimed off waivers in September. Edwards has a career record of 14-16 with 25 touchdowns and 29 interceptions.

The Jags clearly missed not having Jones-Drew versus Washington. Backup Rashad Jennings was ineffective, rushing 15 times for 32 yards against a defense ranked 25th versus the run. Jennings has been productive this season in a reserve role, but failed in his first opportunity to carry the entire workload,

Needless to say, not having their two best players for a must-win game will likely end Jacksonville’s season. The prospect of Edwards and Jennings swooping in to the rescue isn’t very promising, even though the Texans defense is one of the league’s weakest.

Of course, all of this will be moot if Indianapolis takes care of business and beats Tennessee. The Titans have lost eight of nine and Peyton Manning isn’t one to lose division-clinching games at home.

Source: NFL.com