Maurice Jones-Drew insists he has one thing in mind for the final four games of the season: winning.

The franchise running back has been the lone bright spot in a dismal year for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the league’s worst offense.

Jones-Drew leads the NFL with 1,137 yards rushing and has accounted for 46.9 percent of Jacksonville’s offense, the most in the league. His numbers are even more impressive considering the Jaguars (3-9) have had little go right this season. Given all the turmoil — a coaching change, mounting injuries and quarterback chaos — it might make sense that Jones-Drew would want to win the rushing title for teammates and morale.

Not totally.

“Hopefully I can get it and we win the next four,” Jones-Drew said. “That’d be awesome, that’d be ideal. If it comes along with the wins, I’d be happy. I’d love to win the thing — with the four wins. If we don’t win the games, I couldn’t care less about the rushing title.”

His chase begins Sunday against Tampa Bay (4-8), a favorable matchup since the Buccaneers rank 29th in the league against the run. Tampa Bay has allowed 169 yards rushing a game during its six-game losing streak, giving up big chunks to Carolina, Tennessee, Houston, New Orleans and Chicago.

“In this game, if you don’t stop the run, you put yourself in a tough position to win,” Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber said. “As a defense, you always want to be able to pin your ears back and get after the quarterback. But we haven’t been stopping the run well enough to do that.”

Barber laughed when reminded of Sunday’s challenge against Jones-Drew.

“Yeah, that’s always fun,” Barber said. “We all know what Maurice can do. We’ve seen him play. Everybody is a fan of his, love the way he plays the game. If we expect to come out of Jacksonville with a win, and we need one sorely, we’ve got to stop the run. That’s the bottom line. Let them put it on their young quarterback and we feel like our chances are a lot better than if they just turn around and hand the ball off to (No.) 32 all day.”

Jones-Drew has gained at least 84 yards on the ground in 11 of Jacksonville’s 12 games. He’s been solid against everyone, including several of the NFL’s top defenses.

“Eight-man fronts, nine-man fronts, whatever it is, he steps up to the challenge each and every time,” Jaguars interim coach Mel Tucker said. “I don’t know what more you can say about him. He’s one of those guys that any team would like to have.”

Jones-Drew ran for 1,324 yards in 14 games last season — all while dealing with torn meniscus in his right knee. He sat out the final two games after Jacksonville was essentially eliminated from the playoffs, had surgery in January and spent the next six months working his way back to 100 percent.

Speculation about his health persisted as the Jaguars limited his touches in training camp and the preseason. He hated hearing questions about whether he would be ready for the opener or how long he would hold up at arguably the most taxing position in football.

He has silenced all that talk these days. Instead, everything has turned to the rushing title.

“I know you probably think I’m bull-jiving you, but I couldn’t care less about this rushing title,” he said. “I want to win. People remember winners. Tell me who was the rushing leader in ’93. Does anyone know? … You don’t know, but you know who won the Super Bowl in ’93, right?

“Exactly, so that’s what people remember. They remember winners, and that’s what you want your legacy to be.”

Nonetheless, teammates insist MJD’s competitive nature — he wears No. 32 because every team in the league passed over him during the 2006 NFL draft — will push him to want the rushing title.

“We take a lot of pride in that,” guard Uche Nwaneri said. “As a team, to have a back like that, who’s as special as he is, it makes you want to be battle even more on Sundays. And we want to get him that rushing title. I believe he wants it. He’s a competitive guy and I know he wants to win at everything he does.

“And we want to win for him. Everybody on this team, especially us as offensive linemen, wants to get him that rushing title.”

The Buccaneers could have something to say about it. But they need to be better than they’ve been the last six games. Coach Raheem Morris figures that will be a difficult task against the league’s top rusher.

“He’s one of the toughest guys you’ll play against,” Morris said. “He’s hard to tackle, hard to bring down. He’s a rolling ball of butcher knives. He runs angry. He runs violent. He’s one of those guys you want on your football team.”

By Mark Long, Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — All those defensive injuries finally caught up with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars played without five defensive starters and several key backups Monday night against San Diego, and it showed in a 38-14 loss. The Jaguars (3-9) were torched in the secondary, gouged on the ground and essentially out of the game by halftime.

It could get worse, too.

Jacksonville placed defensive end John Chick on injured reserve Tuesday, the team’s 21st player deemed out for the season. Given injuries to fellow defensive ends Aaron Kampman (hamstring) and Matt Roth (concussion), it was no surprise the Jaguars failed to put much pressure on Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Rivers completed 22 of 28 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. He picked apart Jacksonville’s secondary, which played without its top three cornerbacks.

“It was a tough night,” linebacker Russell Allen said. “We didn’t start out fast on defense. We let them score right away and that kind of set the tone. … We just have to trust in the guys we’ve got and we just have to execute better.”

Rivers connected on long touchdowns throws to Vincent Brown, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. The first two came on consecutive possessions in the final two minutes of the first half and put San Diego ahead 24-14. The third one came on the opening drive of the third quarter and left the offensively challenged Jaguars in an uncomfortable chase mode.

“It doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth going in at halftime, then they come out with the ball and make a couple of plays,” defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said. “It’s not how we want to play on defense. … We just didn’t show up.”

The Jaguars allowed 433 yards, their second-most this season, and fell from fourth to fifth in total defense. The unit could slide even further over the final four games considering the mounting injuries.

Although Kampman and Roth could return for the final four games, cornerbacks Rashean Mathis, Derek Cox and Will Middleton, and linebacker Clint Session are out for the season. Safety Dwight Lowery left the game with a shoulder injury, but interim coach Mel Tucker said he should return against Tampa Bay.

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew and Jacksonville’s defense had been the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Jaguars. Team owner Wayne Weaver fired longtime coach Jack Del Rio last week and announced he has agreed to sell the team.

Because Tucker had done such a good job in his first season in control of the defense, Weaver named him the interim coach and said the final five games would serve as an audition for the head job.

His debut was a dud.

The Jaguars took a 14-10 lead with back-to-back touchdown drives in the second quarter. But it was all Rivers from there. He picked on cornerbacks Ashton Youboty and rookie Kevin Rutland. Youboty was signed off the street three weeks ago, and Rutland played mostly on special teams this season before making his first career start.

Tucker eventually benched Youboty and replaced him with Morgan Trent, who was signed four days earlier.

“You won’t hear any excuses or explanations from me and I doubt you will hear it from any players in the locker room,” Tucker said. “Our philosophy is next man up and that’s how we operate. Regardless of the circumstances, the guys that are on our roster available to play we feel like they can get the job done now.

“Do we need to get better in those areas or do we need gain more experience from our mistakes? Absolutely. But there are no excuses here. We won’t allow ourselves to go down that road.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – All those defensive injuries finally caught up with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars played without five defensive starters and several key backups Monday night against San Diego, and it showed in a 38-14 loss. The Jaguars (3-9) were torched in the secondary, gouged on the ground and essentially out of the game by halftime.

It could get worse, too.

Jacksonville placed defensive end John Chick on injured reserve Tuesday, the team’s 21st player deemed out for the season. Given injuries to fellow defensive ends Aaron Kampman (hamstring) and Matt Roth (concussion), it was no surprise the Jaguars failed to put much pressure on Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Rivers completed 22 of 28 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. He picked apart Jacksonville’s secondary, which played without its top three cornerbacks.

“It was a tough night,” linebacker Russell Allen said. “We didn’t start out fast on defence. We let them score right away and that kind of set the tone. … We just have to trust in the guys we’ve got and we just have to execute better.”

Rivers connected on long touchdowns throws to Vincent Brown, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. The first two came on consecutive possessions in the final two minutes of the first half and put San Diego ahead 24-14. The third one came on the opening drive of the third quarter and left the offensively challenged Jaguars in an uncomfortable chase mode.

“It doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth going in at halftime, then they come out with the ball and make a couple of plays,” defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said. “It’s not how we want to play on defence. … We just didn’t show up.”

The Jaguars allowed 433 yards, their second-most this season, and fell from fourth to fifth in total defence. The unit could slide even further over the final four games considering the mounting injuries.

Although Kampman and Roth could return for the final four games, cornerbacks Rashean Mathis, Derek Cox and Will Middleton, and linebacker Clint Session are out for the season. Safety Dwight Lowery left the game with a shoulder injury, but interim coach Mel Tucker said he should return against Tampa Bay.

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew and Jacksonville’s defence had been the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Jaguars. Team owner Wayne Weaver fired longtime coach Jack Del Rio last week and announced he has agreed to sell the team.

Because Tucker had done such a good job in his first season in control of the defence, Weaver named him the interim coach and said the final five games would serve as an audition for the head job.

His debut was a dud.

The Jaguars took a 14-10 lead with back-to-back touchdown drives in the second quarter. But it was all Rivers from there. He picked on cornerbacks Ashton Youboty and rookie Kevin Rutland. Youboty was signed off the street three weeks ago, and Rutland played mostly on special teams this season before making his first career start.

Tucker eventually benched Youboty and replaced him with Morgan Trent, who was signed four days earlier.

“You won’t hear any excuses or explanations from me and I doubt you will hear it from any players in the locker room,” Tucker said. “Our philosophy is next man up and that’s how we operate. Regardless of the circumstances, the guys that are on our roster available to play we feel like they can get the job done now.

“Do we need to get better in those areas or do we need gain more experience from our mistakes? Absolutely. But there are no excuses here. We won’t allow ourselves to go down that road.”

CLEVELAND (AP) —
Colt McCoy
took a knee on Cleveland’s sideline, closed his eyes and the young quarterback asked for some help from above.

This week, the Browns got it.

“There’s nothing wrong with praying,” McCoy said.

Jacksonville rookie quarterback
Blaine Gabbert
‘s pass into the end zone on the game’s last play was incomplete, allowing the Browns to escape with a 14-10 win over the
Jaguars on Sunday.

As McCoy watched helplessly, Gabbert rifled a 3-yard pass high over the middle that was off the mark and caromed off wide
receiver
Mike Thomas
‘ outstretched hands, and the Browns (4-6) celebrated a win they nearly gave away.

“We deserved this one,” McCoy said. “Our team deserved this.”

Last week, the Browns lost 13-12 to the St. Louis Rams when Cleveland botched a snap and reliable kicker
Phil Dawson
missed a 22-yard field goal try. This one nearly ended under similar circumstances as Jacksonville’s final drive was set up
by Dawson missing a 38-yarder that sailed over the top of the right post.

“Everybody played their hearts out and it’s about time it went our way,” said Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who covered
Thomas tightly on the final play. “We knew it was up to us. Right there. We had to make the play and we did.”

McCoy shook off an apparent shoulder injury and threw a 3-yard TD pass to Josh Cribbs in the fourth to give Cleveland a 14-10
lead. But Dawson’s stunning miss with 2:49 left gave the Jaguars (3-7) a final chance and Gabbert, who had some good and bad
moments, nearly pulled off the comeback.

“It’s not the ending we were looking for,” said Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, who defended his use of the clock in the final
minute. “It’s not the first time this year we’ve had the opportunity. We’re really looking for that breakout, game-winning
drive. We had a chance for our quarterback to take us down. He took us down. We were knocking on the door. We just couldn’t
close it out.”

Chris Ogbonnaya
rushed for 115 yards and scored on a 1-yard run for Cleveland, ending a TD drought at home that lasted more than 158 minutes.
The Browns had scoring drives of 87 and 85 yards, rarities in the offense’s first season under coach Pat Shurmur.

But Shurmur knows he can count on his defense, and the Browns’ didn’t disappoint.

“I did trust that we would get them stopped,” Shurmur said. “I trust our defense.”

The Browns appeared in control when Dawson booted his 38-yarder toward the goal post. However, the officials standing directly
under the uprights ruled the high kick went wide right. Dawson argued that his kick should have counted, but referee Terry
McAulay announced the attempt could not be reviewed because it sailed above the post.

“The way we saw it was part of the ball was outside of the outside edge of the upright,” said McAulay, whose crew had a few
other tough calls to make.

Gabbert then drove the Jaguars down the field and Jacksonville caught a break when Browns cornerback
Joe Haden
was called for interference in the final minute on third down.

Maurice Jones-Drew was stopped twice inside the 5, and the Browns were fortunate when Gabbert’s pass on second-and-goal went
off wide receiver
Jason Hill
‘s chest in the back corner of the end zone with 3 seconds left. Haden believed he got a hand on Gabbert’s throw.

That set up a dramatic finale, and this one went Cleveland’s way, giving the Browns a much-needed win before their schedule
gets rougher.

Jackson said he was ready for the pass.

“I anticipated the play and that’s a tough route to cover because he’s kind of going away,” Jackson said. “He came into my
zone and I went with him. His arms went up, I saw that. I put my arms up. He didn’t catch it, that’s all I know and all that
matters.”

Del Rio was asked why he didn’t hand the ball to Jones-Drew on the last play.

“You can make a case for doing that,” Del Rio said. “You can guess any number of plays when you don’t connect. We had two
guys with the ball in the air in the vicinity – missed opportunities.”

McCoy completed 17 of 24 passes for 199 yards. And while his numbers were efficient, the second-year QB again showed he’s
a gamer by staying in despite hurting his right shoulder. Afterward, McCoy said his shoulder was “OK” but didn’t know if he
would need an MRI.

Shurmur doesn’t need any proof that McCoy, who was down on himself following a key interception near Jacksonville’s end zone
in the third, can handle himself physically.

“Colt has taken some licks this year,” Shurmur said. “He bounced back well. He is learning to forget a bad play and move on.”

Gabbert was 22 of 41 for 210 yards, and Jones-Drew rushed for 87 yards on 21 carries.

Josh Scobee
kicked a 42-yard field goal to bring the Jaguars within 14-10 with 5:39 left.

The Browns finally found their way into the end zone in the second quarter, when Ogbonnaya’s first career TD, a 1-yard run,
tied it at 7.

It was Cleveland’s first touchdown at home since Oct. 2, a drought of 158 minutes, 15 seconds – or 2 hours, 38 minutes and
15 seconds, nearly the length of time it takes to play an entire NFL game.

“We’re starting to do things right,” McCoy said.

Jones-Drew powered up the middle for a 6-yard TD run, capping Jacksonville’s 92-yard scoring drive that devoured 9:32 off
the clock. Jones-Drew dragged two defenders into the end zone and followed with a celebration designed to irk Cleveland fans
by imitating the powder toss NBA superstar LeBron James started while he played for the Cavaliers.

Notes: Browns rookie WR
Greg Little
had 5 catches for 59 yards. … Browns WR
Mohamed Massaquoi
had 2 catches after missing the previous two games with a concussion. … Jaguars LBs
Clint Session
,
Matt Roth
and RB
Kevin Rutland
left with head injuries. Del Rio provided no details on the injuries.

© 2011 STATS LLC

Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 146 yards in his return from injury as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off a late rally to post a 17-13 victory over the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Heinz Field.

Led by Mendenhall, who topped 100 yards for the first time this season, the Steelers (4-2) raced out to a 17-0 lead and handed the Jaguars their fifth straight loss.

Jacksonville rallied behind rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert and its defense shut out the Steelers in the second half.

Gabbert threw a scoring strike for the fourth consecutive game, but he couldn’t lead the final touchdown drive the Jaguars (1-5) needed in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville drove inside the Pittsburgh 30 in the fourth quarter but had to settle for a field goal. The Jaguars’ final drive made it across midfield, but Gabbert’s desperation pass on the final play fell incomplete in the end zone.