JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the Jacksonville Jaguars trudged into the locker room down 10 points at halftime, Maurice Jones-Drew called an impromptu meeting.
The Jaguars responded even better to his motivational speech than the running back planned.
David Garrard, Rashad Jennings and Jones-Drew led a barrage of big plays — just enough to offset Darren McFadden’s huge day — and the Jaguars beat the Oakland Raiders 38-31 on Sunday in a game that featured six touchdowns of at least 30 yards.
Jones-Drew’s halftime words left an impression, but not because of the tenor, tone or timing.
“It meant something because it came from him,” receiver Mike Sims-Walker said. “He’s not a talkative guy, a loud person. But he felt like we were letting the game slip away by doing things we don’t normally do. He gave us some words and we listened. We came out and fed off it.”
The Jaguars (8-5) won for the first time in franchise history when giving up 30 points and overcame a halftime deficit for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009, against St. Louis. This one was significant. It gave Jacksonville five wins in its last six games and set up a critical AFC South showdown at Indianapolis next Sunday.
Jacksonville is a game ahead of the Colts and can clinch the division next week with a victory and a loss by Houston. Jones-Drew might want to prepare a pregame speech for that one.
“He let us have it in his own way, saying, ‘Let’s get it going and keep your heads up,’ ” rookie Deji Karim said.
The Raiders (6-7) lost for the third time in four weeks.
McFadden did his part to keep Oakland in the game. He had a 67-yard TD reception, a 51-yard scoring run and a 36-yarder that tied the game at 31 with 1:53 remaining.
But Karim returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards, and Jones-Drew went untouched on the next play for a 30-yard score.
“At critical points of the game, we just didn’t make the plays,” Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. “When it came down to it, we gave up too many big plays on defense. You aren’t going to beat anybody doing that.”
