Posted at 11:23 a.m., Sunday, December 23, 2007
NFL: Jaguars hammer Raiders, 49-11
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
His 62-yard touchdown run on Jacksonville's opening play set the tone for today's 49-11 rout of the Oakland Raiders.
Taylor finished with 111 yards as the Jaguars (11-4) won for the sixth time in seven games and clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.
So much for a letdown after last week's big win at Pittsburgh. So much for a Pro Bowl hangover. And so much for having to worry about winning at nemesis Houston in the season finale.
In fact, Jacksonville could use next week to rest several starters and prepare for the first round of the playoffs.
Coach Jack Del Rio even got a jump on that Sunday, pulling Taylor, quarterback David Garrard and several others in the blowout.
The Raiders (4-11), who suffered their worst loss of the season, finally turned things over to No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell. Although it might help down the road, it was pretty much disastrous against Jacksonville.
Russell was 7-of-23 passing for 83 yards with a touchdown — a 2-yard pass to Zach Miller with 6 seconds remaining — three interceptions and a fumble.
