JAGS SLIP PAST CHIEFS

The Jacksonville Jaguars bounced back from an embarrassing blowout loss at Tennessee the previous week to get past the Kansas City Chiefs 24-21 on Sunday.  David Garrard threw for 264 yards and one touchdown to help his team get back on the winning track.  Maurice Jones-Drew chipped in with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown.  Jacksonville evened its 2009 NFL mark at 4-4, while Kansas City slumped to 1-7.

While they got the straight up victory, the Jaguars’ losing streak against the NFL pointspread has now stretched to four straight games as they failed to cover as -7 home favorites.  Both teams are now 3-5 against the spread, but Kansas City has covered three of their last four contests.  The 45 points scored went OVER the posted total of41’.  The Jaguars have gone OVER in five of their eight games this season, while the Chiefs have a NFL totals record of 4 OVER, 2 UNDER and 2 pushes.  

Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis said that while the ‘bounce back’ win was important, consistency is even more so:

"There's only so much bouncing back you can do before there's no more bouncing to do. It's something to hang your hat on, to know that we're going to fight, but at the same time we have to learn to be consistent."

Teammate Chris Chambers concurred:

"I'm glad we didn't quit. We can build on this."

Jags’ linebacker Clint Ingram said that his team came into the game with a chip on their shoulder:

"We brought a different attitude to the game. It's not a time for us to start beating ourselves on the chest and patting ourselves on the back. It's one game. It's good that we won it, but we've still got a lot of work to do and a lot of corrections to make and a lot of stuff to clean up."

Chiefs’ QB Matt Cassel tried to rally his team late, but his big plays fell short:

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get into a rhythm early on. The guys made some big plays. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough at the end. We have to just start early."

Jacksonville will try to build some momentum as they travel to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Jets this weekend.  The Jaguars are a +7 road underdog with the total set at 40.  They’ll host the Buffalo Bills on the following Sunday before hitting the road again for a game against the San Francisco 49ers.  Kansas City will head west to face another struggling team this weekend, taking on the Oakland Raiders.  The Chiefs are +1 road underdogs with the total set at 36’.