Quarterback David Garrard performed well enough to win the game, completing 19 passes and running for 42 yards on seven carries. “I’ve been making plays my whole life at quarterback. I felt the same at the beginning of the game as I did in the end,” Garrard said in his post game press conference. It’s not as if Garrard had any attitude after the game, but he wanted the writers to know that playing in a game, and winning, is not foreign to him.

Wide receiver Jimmy Smith was impressed with Garrard’s performance, “He’s light years ahead of where he was last year.”

Once again the Jaguars found a way to win the game. “There are no ugly wins,” long time scribe Rex Edmonson whispered to me as we walked out of the locker room. “And never apologize for victory,” I chimed in.

The win against the Lions allowed the Jaguars to keep pace in the AFC South, and put them among six teams in the conference with 6-3 records. Beating a non-conference opponent like the Lions can help with the tie breakers down the road, if it comes to that. They made a commitment to run the football, and did, for the most part. Fred Taylor had 114 yards on 23 carries while the team had 239 yards total on the ground. There were a couple of calls on short yardage that were suspect. Garrard was asked to roll out both times and neither worked. “That’s what happens sometimes during the game,” David explained. “I ran the plays that were called and they didn’t work.”

I asked him if he checked off to those plays, and he said no, that he just ran the plays that were sent in. Which leads to the question of game management, especially in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars were gashing the Lions at the line of scrimmage, but instead of giving it to Greg Jones, Fred Taylor or LeBrandon Toefield, they tried something different and it cost ‘em. “If it works, it’s a great play, if not, it’s not,” Del Rio explained.

I generally agree with that, but in this case, the Lions were back on their heels and a couple more shots in the middle of the line could have put them away. They got away with it, and sometimes that’s the thing that separates the teams that go to the playoffs from the one’s that don’t. The game wasn’t very clean, and perhaps that’s because of the two week layoff. Or just a new quarterback calling signals in a game situation. Whatever it was, it should disappear by next week against Tennessee. At 6-3 the Jaguars have a chance to put the Titans in a serious hole with a win this coming Sunday.