Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew blames himself for crucial loss
On Monday, Jacksonville star running back Maurice Jones-Drew took the blame for everything that went wrong for the Jaguars on Sunday. The Jaguars were beaten 24 against 34 versus the Indianapolis Colts. Jones-Drew shouldered the
blame for the Jaguars worst rushing performance this season and for the two fumbles in the 3rd.
He said that he had to own up to his shortcomings and admitted that he didn’t play well. “Everybody else, guys were doing a great job. I didn't play well at all. There's no sugarcoating it at all.”
Jones-Drew was on a six games 100 yards streak when the Jaguars faced the Colts this Sunday. That streak ended when Jones-Drew rushed just 46 yards. It was the worst performance for the running back against the Colts. His knee
was not a 100 percent this Sunday but Jones-Drew insisted that it was no excuse for his poor performance.
“I just didn't perform. I hold myself to a higher standard than that,” Jones-Drew said. “After the game, I pretty much wanted to cry because I felt like I let the team down with two fumbles and not being able to convert on fourth
downs, on the goal line, certain things like that.” He added that there are things he has to work on and make sure that he performs at his best next weekend.
The defeat has dealt a serious blow to Jacksonville’s playoff ambitions. It is the second loss in the past 7 days in for the Jaguars who are locked in battle with the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC South title. The 8-6 Jaguars
are now tied at the top of the table with the Colts. In week 4, the Jaguars defeated the Colts with 31 points against 28. Each side now has one win on the other. The Next two weeks would determine who goes to the playoffs and who would miss out.
If Jacksonville can beat both Washington and Houston and the Colts fall to either the Titans or the Raiders, only then can the Jaguars still make the playoffs. In the last 11 years Jacksonville has made the playoffs in just two
seasons. They Jaguars are hopeful because the Colts are looking at a difficult two weeks. Jacksonville’s defensive end Jeremy Mincey said that the Raiders were no pushovers. “The Colts got a lot on their hands this week. We're still optimistic about our situation,
hoping the cards fall the way we want them to fall.”
Jacksonville needs its best runner in top form in for the last two weeks of the regular season and Jones-Drew knows this as well as anyone. He said that he had to do what he could to help his team to victories. A Sunday-like performance
just won’t do.
Against the Colts, Jones-Drew missed a possible touchdown when he was stopped for no gain on the 1st and a goal in the first quarter. On the next play, the running back lost 3 yards. The Jaguars had to go for the field
goal in that play and Jones-Drew blames himself. He also said the two fumbled handoffs between himself and quarterback David Garrard were both his faults even though Garrard was credited for both.
“After watching the tape and seeing how it went down, I've got to be much better than that,” Jones-Drew said. “I owe it to this team and everyone in this organization to be a better player than that.” Owning up to mistakes is commendable
but Sunday debacle was not all Jones-Drew’s fault. It was a team effort.
“We all had our own individual issues that we messed up in the game,” Garrard said. He added that against a team like the Colts they couldn’t afford mistakes and had to play ‘lights-out football’ which they didn’t and ended up
being defeated.
The Coach Jack Del Rio also admitted that there were many things which the Jags could have done better. “It doesn't end up going our way and so that's easy to say now after the fact. He did everything he could to answer for us,
to be there in a big moment. I have a lot of respect for that.”
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