Sep 16, 2007, 20:11 GMT
Jacksonville, FL - David Garrard threw for 272 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars edged Atlanta, 13-7, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
Garrard completed 17-of-25 passes and added 20 rushing yards for the Jaguars (1-1), who were coming off a tough 13-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans last week.
'We were doing a decent job running the ball, but it got to a point where we knew we had to start putting the ball in the air,' Garrard said. 'The coaches felt it, we felt it and we knew we could do it. We just had to go out there and execute.'
Reggie Williams caught two balls for 41 yards, and his 14-yard TD grab in the opening minute of the fourth quarter gave the Jaguars the lead. Fred Taylor ran for 56 yards on 16 carries.
Joey Harrington was 12-of-20 for 200 yards for the Falcons (0-2), who were coming off a season-opening 24-3 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota. Roddy White had four receptions for 81 yards and Warrick Dunn rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
'It's not discouraging, its frustrating,' Harrington said. 'There's a difference. Discouraging would imply that we don't believe in what we're doing or we don't believe in ourselves. We know we can move the ball. It's a matter of finishing off those drives.'
Down 7-3, the Jaguars went back in front on the second play of the fourth quarter. Garrard capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive by throwing a 14-yard strike to Williams on a seam route to make it 10-7 with 14:10 left in the game.
The Jacksonville defense, fueled by two sacks, quickly got the ball back for Garrard and Company. The Jags had a chance to put the game away on the ensuing possession and siphoned 8:03 off the clock before John Carney booted a 27-yard field goal with 3:39 left on the clock. The field goal extended the Jacksonville advantage to 13-7.
With the game on the line, the Falcons managed one first down but Harrington was sacked again, this time by Brent Hawkins, on a third-and-eight play from the Atlanta 29. The Falcons were forced to punt and Jacksonville ran out the clock to seal things.
'Obviously, it was a situation where we needed to find a way to win, somehow, someway,' said Jags coach Jack Del Rio.' think that we have every confidence that David (Garrard) can play quarterback for us. Its not just hand it off and manage the game. He can throw the ball and make plays in the passing game.'
Jacksonville took the lead with an impressive drive that bridged the first and second quarters. Garrard found Williams for a 27-yard gain and Marcedes Lewis for a 25-yard pickup to highlight the march before things bogged down at the Atlanta 17. Carney, who was kicking in place of the injured Josh Scobee, came on to boot a 35-yard field goal to give the Jags a 3-0 advantage with 13 1/2 minutes left before the half.
Matt Prater had a chance to match Carney later in the second quarter but the Falcons kicker badly missed a 42-yard field goal wide right.
Atlanta rebounded and ended the half strongly, however. After Michael Boley partially blocked an Adam Podlesh punt, the Falcons went 73 yards on 12 plays, culminating with a brilliant four-yard touchdown run by Dunn with just 57 seconds left before intermission. It was the first TD of the season for the beleaguered Falcons offense and gave them a 7-3 edge heading to the locker room.
The Jags took the opening kickoff in the second half and moved methodically down the field. Faced with a fourth-and-six from the Falcons 34, Jacksonville decided to go for it and went to a wheel route for Maurice Jones-Drew down the left sideline. John Abraham was up to the task and ran stride-for-stride with the running back, breaking up the pass.
The momentum shift could have been a big one as the Falcons were able to get into the red zone. But, Harrington took a big third-down sack and Prater badly missed another field goal, this one a chip-shot from 26 yards out.
Game Notes
Scobee will miss at least three weeks with a strained quadriceps muscle... Jacksonville now has a 3-1 edge in its all-time series with Atlanta...Falcons coach Bobby Petrino spent three seasons (1999-2001) with the Jags as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator...The Jacksonville defense had seven sacks in the game.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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