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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are
accumulating wins, Fred Taylor is piling up yardage and the
Cleveland Browns are finding record-setting ways to close their
dismal season.
Taylor broke the Jaguars' career rushing record Sunday, running
for 181 yards and three touchdowns in Jacksonville's 48-0 victory
over the woeful Browns.
|  | | Mark Brunell, right, went 15-of-31 for 165 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars. |
Jacksonville (6-7) won its third straight and set the team
record for largest margin of victory in a regular-season game.
Cleveland (3-11) matched its biggest defeat ever.
Taylor surpassed 100 yards for the seventh straight game, tying
him with an impressive group -- Terrell Davis, Earl Campbell and
O.J. Simpson -- for the fourth-longest string in NFL history. He has
3,055 career yards, passing James Stewart for the top spot in
Jacksonville's six-year-old record book.
"He's healthy and he's one of the best in the league,"
quarterback Mark Brunell said. "He's running with confidence. He's
the key to the offense. A lot of times there's nothing there, and
he makes something happen."
Without question, the third-year running back's performances
have been the most encouraging aspect of Jacksonville's upsetting
season.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Question on the Browns: Can coach Chris Palmer find anything positive
from this loss?
Donahoe: The Browns and coach Palmer continue to struggle as the
season winds down. The Browns have numerous problems on offense. Having lost
their top two quarterbacks, Tim
Couch and Ty Detmer, the
Browns are in a difficult situation. Using third- and fourth-string
quarterbacks is not conducive to moving the football and scoring points. The
Browns' defense, which has improved this year, is not being helped by an
offense that cannot control the football.
Question on the Jaguars: Is it too little too late for the Jags to
make the playoffs?
Donahoe: Under coach Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars have really made
strides in the last month. If they run the table, the best record the Jags
can finish with is 9-7 -- which would probably leave them on the outside
looking in come playoff time. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, there are some
strong teams in the AFC this year. A team with 10 wins this season could
possibly miss the playoffs. The Jags are on the edge and would need some
unusual things to happen to have a chance. Whatever happens, the Jaguars can
feel good about how they've responded after some early-season adversity.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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Despite their third straight win, the Jaguars slipped to the
edge of playoff elimination when Denver and the New York Jets won.
According to the NFL, a New England victory over Kansas City on
Monday night will officially drop the Jaguars out of the postseason
race.
"We're playing pretty good football now," left tackle Tony
Boselli said. "But you've got to do it for 16 weeks. We're playing
for 9-7 and whatever happens happens. Otherwise, let's just let
Fred Taylor get his yards, let's let Mark have a good year and
we'll go from there."
There doesn't seem to be much of a bright side for the Browns.
This banged-up, demoralized group being quarterbacked by unknown
rookie Spergon Wynn managed 53 yards in offense and never made it
past the 50. It was their second-lowest offensive output ever, just
13 yards better than their effort in last year's expansion opener
against the Steelers, a 43-0 loss.
The Browns have lost their last three games by a combined total
of 116-17, not exactly the way the coach of a second-year expansion
team builds the confidence of his players, or front office.
"You've got to be realistic that there are some problems we
have," coach Chris Palmer said. "We have to address those. Until
we address all our needs, there's no sense in pointing your fingers
at the players, the personnel department or anybody else."
The low moment came with 5:27 left when Tom Coughlin kept his
offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the 3, knowing a field
goal in that situation would have been more humbling to Cleveland
than a straight-ahead run.
Still, the Browns couldn't stop Shyrone Stith. He scored, and
the Browns equaled a pair of 30-plus-year-old humiliations: A 55-7
loss to Green Bay in 1967, and a 51-3 loss to Minnesota two years
later.
"Things just aren't happening," said quarterback Doug
Pederson, one of five to take snaps for the Browns this season.
"It doesn't matter who's in the game. Every guy has to be
accountable. The bottom line is that it's very frustrating."
The Jaguars recorded their second shutout of the season. The
other: a 13-0 victory over Cincinnati back in September.
Taylor was on the bench for that one, but his return from a
preseason knee injury has been impressive. As much as the yardage
he has compiled, the way he has done it has been just as telling.
He didn't have a run of more than 28 yards. He carried the ball
30 times, debunking the once widely held myth that Taylor is just a
big-play guy, a fragile runner who can't carry the load through an
entire game or a whole season.
"I want to show people how strong I can be," Taylor said. "I
had 30 carries and it only felt like 15 or 20. I wasn't tired. I
wasn't anything. I was blessed to come out without injury."
Brunell threw for 165 yards and one touchdown, a 14-yard strike
to Keenan McCardell for a 20-0 lead before halftime. Jimmy Smith
caught six passes for 104 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for
the fifth straight season.
Game notes
The Jaguars' previous biggest win was a 41-3 victory over
San Francisco in last year's opener. ... Jaguars cornerback
Fernando Bryant left with a high left ankle sprain. Coughlin said
the outlook was not optimistic. ... Cleveland linebacker Rahim
Abdullah, a native of Jacksonville, had his first career sack.
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ALSO SEE
Cleveland Clubhouse
Jacksonville Clubhouse
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