Jacksonville, Fla. – This was the season the Jacksonville Jaguars were supposed to turn things around offensively.
Quarterback Byron Leftwich was a year older and wiser. Fred Taylor still ranked among the league’s best running backs as long as he’s healthy. And the receiving corps, led by the ageless Jimmy Smith and bolstered by the likes of youngsters Reggie Williams, Ernest Wilford and highly touted rookie Matt Jones, appeared ready for banner years.
Hopes were high after the first three weeks of the season, when the Jaguars piled up more than 300 yards in three consecutive games and scored 26 points twice.
But all the anticipation of the offense finally catching up to the team’s stout defensive unit faded Sunday when the Broncos shut down Jacksonville’s playmakers. And when Denver didn’t stop the Jaguars (241 total yards), they stopped themselves with 15 penalties.
Included in the futility was a team record-low 12 rushing yards on 11 carries. The previous low was 26 yards against Pittsburgh in 2000. Taylor was no factor with 14 yards on eight carries.
“It was just an ugly day in all phases,” Jaguars offensive tackle Maurice Williams said. “You can’t blame one man; it was a team effort, and it was ugly. It was really ugly.”
The Jaguars looked like they were playing away from the friendly confines of home. They had six false-start penalties, a delay of game, an offensive pass interference, a tripping call and unsportsmanlike conduct call when left tackle Ephraim Salaam was caught blocking after the whistle.
“When we started to get something going, we would have penalties,” Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. “We just had penalties that would keep any momentum from getting built up.”
Without an effective running game, the Jaguars turned to Leftwich. He finished 20-of-34 for 240 yards and a touchdown to Smith, but two interceptions left the third-year veteran with a quarterback rating of 65.8. Smith finished with 109 yards on five catches.
“We had opportunities, as bad as we played, and were still in this football game until the end,” Leftwich said. “You want to say that you can find a way to win. We didn’t, and that makes it worse. We had a bad game. It hurts everybody.”
Playing from behind without an effective running game, the Jaguars had to rely on the pass. And that just made things easier for the Broncos’ defensive line.
“When an offense gets behind the 8 ball and you can’t run the ball because you’re behind, the defensive line gets to pin its ears back,” Broncos defensive end Trevor Pryce said. “Rushing the passer is one of the easiest things to do on a football field when you’re ahead. It really didn’t have to do with the Jacksonville offensive line; it’s because they were behind and they couldn’t run the ball.
“We were able to just charge at the quarterback.”
