Jaguars Eye .500 Against Visiting Chiefs

NFL News - November 3rd, 2009 - Written by John

At this point in the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars can be viewed as having one of the most exciting players in the NFL and some of the most disappointing other 10 players on the rest of their offense. There was a point when it appeared they had a relatively good shot at a Wild Card berth. But that seems a little too ambitious now after handing the Tennessee Titans their first win of the year and falling to 3-4 overall.

They will get another basement team this week when they host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week Nine. The Jaguars have been relatively good all year at home, winning two of three, and are favored by 6 1/2 against the Chiefs according to BetUS. The payout is -110 both ways with an over/under of 42. Kansas City is coming off a bye and their games following an off-week have hit the over five of the last six years.

Jones-Drew is sixth in the NFL in rushing yards (640) after torching the Titans for 177 yards and two touchdowns, one coming off a season-long 80 yard dash up the middle. He has at least two scores in three games this year, accounting for eight of the team's nine touchdowns in those games.

Jacksonville can take comfort in the fact that Kansas City has lost by an average of over 10 points per game and has a lone win against the Washington Redskins. They were prodded throughout the bye week by reporters seeking thoughts about Larry Johnson's status with the team after lambasting head coach Todd Haley on Twitter, discrediting his status as an NFL coach and criticizing the team's direction. He forgot to mention that he is part of the problem. His 2.7 yards per carry is among the league's worst of all starters and only has 358 this season.

The passing game has been efficient, but not explosive. With a shaky offensive line that has surrendered 27 sacks, quarterback Matt Cassel has avoided throwing more interceptions than touchdowns and has 994 yards on the season. The problem is he hasn't provided a spark team officials believed he would after throwing for 4,000 yards in his first year as a starter for the Patriots. The team is second-to-last in total offense and are 27th in total defense. They have only scored 20 points twice and are coming off their worst loss of the season, a 37-7 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Chargers two weeks ago.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/nfl-news/