Jaguars 10, 49ers 9

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Jack Del Rio walked out of the locker room and sighed loudly. It was all the Jacksonville coach needed to say about this one.

David Garrard ran for a touchdown, Josh Scobee kicked the winning field goal and Jacksonville edged lowly San Francisco 10-9 on a cold and dreary Sunday.

The Jaguars (10-4) moved closer to a playoff berth, but they made it more difficult than it should have been and raised more questions about an offense that has been somewhat stagnant without quarterback Byron Leftwich.

``You have to be concerned,'' said Fred Taylor, who ran 17 times for 61 yards. ``We've been winning some ugly ones, but they count.''

Jacksonville won for the sixth time in seven games - all of the victories against teams with losing records - and the last four have come by a combined 17 points.

Nonetheless, the Jags can return to the postseason for the first time since 1999 with a victory against Houston or Tennessee to end the season.

``It's a great feeling,'' Taylor said. ``It's always good to get double-digit wins, especially around this place. We haven't had 10 wins in a while. It feels good. It was ugly, but this is the NFL. It's not the BCS system, so it still counts no matter how pretty or ugly it is.''

The Jaguars could have clinched a playoff spot Sunday with a victory and some help, but wins by Pittsburgh and San Diego prevented that.

Jacksonville didn't get the assistance it needed, but then again, it almost didn't matter. The Jags nearly had a letdown against the 49ers (2-12), who entered the game ranked last in the league in offense and defense.

Garrard struggled some against San Francisco's constant blitzes, but did enough to manage two scoring drives. He was nearly perfect on both.

He was 4-for-4 passing for 22 yards on the second-quarter scoring drive that put the Jaguars ahead 7-3. He capped it with a 13-yard run in which he spun away from hard-hitting linebacker Julian Peterson and into the end zone.

``It was a pretty good move,'' Garrard said. ``I was lucky to end up in the end zone and not the locker room.''

Garrard was almost as solid on the game-winning drive. He was 4-of-5 for 36 yards, and his only incompletion came when rookie Matt Jones dropped a pass on third down. Scobee finished off the drive with 32-yard field goal that put the Jags ahead for good.

But 10 points against San Francisco? At home? With a possible playoff spot at stake? The 49ers gave up 36 points a game in their first six road losses and were playing with numerous injuries on defense.

``I'm concerned that we're not putting up a lot of points,'' said Jimmy Smith, who caught six passes for 70 yards. ``We need to step it up and make more plays.''

San Francisco, which has lost 12 of 13 since beating St. Louis in the season opener, led 9-7 after Joe Nedney's 33-yard field goal - his third of the game - on the second play of the fourth quarter. But Nedney's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and gave the Jaguars good field position.

Garrard moved the offense into field goal range from there.

San Francisco had plenty of chances to retake the lead, but rookie Alex Smith threw his 10th interception of the season and the offense converted just one of 13 third-down opportunities.

Smith finished 8-of-24 for 123 yards and ran four times for 30 yards. The good news for the 49ers was the Smith didn't fumble, something that has become a hot topic after fumbling three times last week at Seattle.

``He played well in spurts, and at other times, not as good,'' coach Mike Nolan said. ``As we're well aware, that is going to happen with a young quarterback.''

Smith didn't have his usual help. Leading receiver Brandon Lloyd left the game with a sprained neck and fellow starting wideout Arnaz Battle missed the game with a knee injury.

``Certainly, with Brandon Lloyd going down, we lost one of his weapons, one of the people that he can go to,'' Nolan said. ``That made it a little more difficult on him, but he continues to fight through it.''

Notes: Jimmy Smith moved into seventh place on the NFL's all-time receptions list with 852, passing Irving Fryar. Smith also moved into 12th place on the all-time receiving list with 12,155 yards, passing Charlie Joyner. ... Jags RB Greg Jones left in the fourth quarter with a strained neck, but said he was OK. ... 49ers rookie Frank Gore ran 19 times for 79 yards and caught three passes for 57 yards, including a 47-yarder that set up a field goal just before halftime.

Colts 26, Jaguars 18

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - With most of their goals accomplished, the Indianapolis Colts can now turn their attention to history.

But don't expect them to look too far ahead.

Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison, Mike Vanderjagt kicked four field goals and the Colts remained unbeaten with a 26-18 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Indy became the fourth team in NFL history to start 13-0, locked up a third consecutive division title and secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The team has little left to play for over the final three games.

Well, except for matching the elusive mark set by the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Perfection.

``Going 16-0 would be great, but it's not the most important thing,'' coach Tony Dungy said. ``I like history. I appreciate it. But I just think it's best to not look too far ahead.''

The Colts joined the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1972 Dolphins and 1998 Denver Broncos as the league's only teams to start 13-0. But the Dolphins were the lone team to finish the regular season unbeaten and sweep through the playoffs.

Dungy and his players have been fielding questions regarding their pursuit of perfection for weeks. They downplayed it for the most part, but have little else to talk about now.

Dungy must decide whether to rest players and reduce the risk of injury or try to run the table and chase Miami's mark.

The Colts host the San Diego Chargers next week.

``We definitely want to win,'' Dungy said. ``We're going to play to win and go from there. We're going to keep our mantra: one game at a time. We're going to do everything we can to beat San Diego and we're not going to look ahead.''

Manning picked apart Jacksonville's secondary all game - something he didn't do in the teams' first meeting. He had 122 yards passing in a 10-3 win against the Jaguars (9-4) in the second week of the season. He nearly doubled that by halftime Sunday, and finished 24-of-36 for 324 yards. He was sacked a season-high three times.

Harrison caught six passes for a season-high 137 yards.

Manning directed an 89-yard drive on Indy's opening possession and capped it with a 9-yard pass to Harrison. They hooked up for another score early in the second quarter, a perfectly thrown 65-yard pass.

The Jaguars, who had their five-game winning streak snapped, scored twice in the final 4:08 and looked like they were going to get a final chance to tie the game.

They forced Indy into a third-down play with 1:39 remaining. But Manning completed a 12-yard pass under heavy pressure to Dallas Clark.

``It's one of those plays that you just trust Dallas will be in that spot, but I couldn't really see him,'' Manning said.

The Jaguars spent much of the week talking about how well they've matched up with the Colts, and repeatedly said they relished the chance to hand their division rival its first loss.

But this one was more of a mismatch until the closing minutes.

The Jags added to their woes with three turnovers and some foolish penalties.

``We beat ourselves up and down - on offense, defense and special teams,'' Jags linebacker Mike Peterson said. ``We didn't spoil their streak, but we can get another shot at them. They can be beat. This team isn't too much for us. Can we beat them? Hell, yeah.''

QB David Garrard, starting his second game in place of Byron Leftwich, fumbled near the goal line. Kyle Brady fumbled three times and lost two. The Jaguars also were flagged seven times for 65 yards.

Coach Jack Del Rio drew one of them for yelling profanity as he threw the challenge flag at an official, a penalty that probably will come with a league fine.

``There are a lot of things said on the sideline that your children shouldn't hear,'' Del Rio said.

The Jaguars can still make the playoffs by winning their final three games against San Francisco, Houston and Tennessee.

``Hopefully we'll win out and see (the Colts) somewhere again,'' said Fred Taylor, who returned from a two-game absence and ran 10 times for 19 yards. ``They're a good team. I'll give them credit. They're a good team, but we beat ourselves more than them being a good team. They're beatable.''

Maybe so. But their record says otherwise.

``We will not let down,'' Colts defensive tackle Montae Reagor said. ``We don't want to lose. 13-0 doesn't guarantee us anything. We want to keep our rhythm, keep our chemistry. We want to keep on playing until coach says no.''

Notes Jimmy Smith became the 13th player in NFL history to surpass 12,000 yards receiving. He finished with eight catches for 102 yards and a score. It was his third 100-yard game of the season and the 46th of his career. ... Manning surpassed 3,000 yards passing for the eighth straight year, the only quarterback to start his career like that. ... Colts LB Cato June was inactive because of injuries to his groin, knee and ankle.

Jaguars 20, Browns 14

CLEVELAND (AP) - At halftime, Jack Del Rio's angry voice filled every crevice of Jacksonville's locker room. By the time the tirade quieted, the message had sunk in with the Jaguars.

``He was a little fired up,'' quarterback David Garrard said. ``But I've seen him worse. He didn't break anything.''

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Del Rio left that up to his team.

Garrard, making his fourth career start, threw two touchdown passes in the second half and made a crucial scramble for a first down in the final minutes as the Jaguars rallied for their fifth straight win, 20-14 over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Before getting their third straight road win, the Jaguars (9-3) didn't look anything like playoff contenders in the first half as a dropped TD pass, penalties and an interception thrown by Garrard gave the Browns a 14-3 lead at halftime.

As they left the field, the Jaguars knew what was coming during the 12-minute intermission: Del Rio's wrath.

``There is a time and place to express frustration and anger,'' said Del Rio, who refused to give details about his verbal barrage. ``I did what I had to do to motivate them. They responded well.''

No player more than Garrard.

With Leftwich out at least four weeks with a broken ankle, the Jaguars have put their playoff hopes in the hands of Garrard, a four-year veteran with no big-game experience in the pros.

But he came through in the clutch against the Browns (4-8), tossing two TDs - the second a 12-yarder to Jimmy Smith late in the third quarter - as Jacksonville rallied to win for the seventh time in 2005. He finished 11-of-20 for 116 yards and one interception.

``He didn't do anything to hurt us,'' Smith said. ``He did a great job and made big plays when we needed them. That's all you can ask.''

Jacksonville's defense also turned it around, holding the Browns to 55 yards in the second half after giving up 243 in the first. The Jaguars sacked Cleveland rookie quarterback Charlie Frye five times after halftime.

``In the second half, the whole idea was to put pressure on the rookie,'' said defensive tackle Marcus Stroud. ``We showed him stuff he's probably never seen. Coach challenged us and we responded.''

As the Jaguars were attempting to run out the clock near midfield, Garrard took off on third-and-19, picking up 28 yards at the 2-minute warning. He then knelt on three straight plays as the Jaguars closed out their third straight road win as Browns fans peppered the field with snowballs.

Jacksonville has twice gone 3-0 on three-game trips since 2001 - the only NFL team to do so.

Next week, the Jaguars have a chance to do something else unique - they'll host unbeaten Indianapolis. Earlier this season, the Colts beat Jacksonville 10-3.

``All wins are satisfying,'' Del Rio said. ``But now we can finally look ahead to the Colts.''

The only thing the Browns can look forward to is the end of another tough season.

Frye, making his first career start in place of injured Trent Dilfer, threw two touchdown passes in the first half to Braylon Edwards. But Frye was roughed up in the second half, and Edwards was helped off the field in the fourth period with a potentially season-ending injury to his right knee.

The Browns said Edwards will likely have an MRI on Sunday night and coach Romeo Crennel will have an update Monday.

Browns wide receiver Antonio Bryant said Edwards ``told me he felt a pop.''

Frye finished 13-of-20 for 226 yards.

One of the few bright spots for the Browns was running back Reuben Droughns, who became the first Cleveland back to break 1,000 yards in a season since 1985. He finished with 88 yards on 30 tries.

``It is bittersweet,'' Droughns said. ``It's not exactly one of those exciting moments because I would rather win.''

Trailing 14-3 at half, Garrard drove the Jaguars to a field goal on their first possession after of the third quarter. The next time he got the ball, Garrard tossed a 9-yard TD pass to tight end George Wrighster, who dragged his left foot at the back of the end zone.

The Browns went three-and-out, and following a 46-yard pass interference call against Cleveland, Garrard completed a 17-yard pass to Kyle Brady before hitting a wide-open Smith.

Notes: Jacksonville has won five straight for the first time since 1999. ... Cleveland hadn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner, who both went over 1,000 yards in 1985. ... The Jaguars are 5-0 in Cleveland. ... Smith has caught a pass in 72 straight games. He needs only 2 yards to become the 13th receiver in league history to top 12,000 career yards.