Bob Cook

An oddity about the Jacksonville Jaguars is that they went from underachievers last season to a team no one wants to meet in the playoffs this season — without their team statistics appreciably changing.

This year’s Jaguars (11-5) are the “team to watch out for,” as Jerry Rice told the Boston Globe, not because they are loads better than last year’s 8-8 squad, but because they are loads smarter. Jacksonville is on a roll entering the playoffs, scoring 24 or more points in 10 straight games and gaining more than 400 yards in six straight because it has learned how not to beat itself. Jacksonville this year has learned how to minimize mistakes and win close games — two attributes it needs in spades if wants to make a dark-horse run past a murderer’s row of Pittsburgh, New England and Indianapolis, all on the road, to its first Super Bowl.

The lesson of Jacksonville’s 2007 season is that it’s not just about the stats you pile up, but how and when you pile them.

Through 15 games this season (throwing out the final-game loss against Houston because the Jaguars didn’t play their regulars), Jacksonville outscored its opponents 383-262 on their way to an 11-4 record. Last season, the 8-8 Jaguars outscored their opponents 371-274. Through 15 games this season, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew combined to rush for 1,970 yards, or 131.3 per game. Last season, Taylor and Jones-Drew combined to rush for 2,087 yards, or 130.4 per game.

Through 15 games this season, the Jacksonville defense had 36 sacks, 19 interceptions and allowed only 1,435 rushing yards. Last year, the Jaguars’ defense had 35 sacks, 20 interceptions and allowed only 1,460 rushing yards. This year Jacksonville held opponents to a 27:51 time of possession. Last year’s team held opponents to a 27:52 time of possession.

But the difference in records speaks to more maturity on the Jaguars‘ part. Last year’s Jaguars could win the blowouts (average win, 19 points per game) but couldn’t handle close contests (average loss, 7 points per game). They also couldn’t handle late-season pressure, losing their last three games. This year’s Jacksonville Jaguars are showing better fortitude in pulling out close games, including late fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat division champs Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh on the road.

They also won six of their last seven before handing over the reins to the backups Sunday.

They are also doing a better job of minimizing mistakes. Their turnover margin of plus-9 (entering the Houston game) was well above the previous year’s plus-one, a stat dragged down by Jacksonville’s minus-11 margin in their eight losses.

Jaguars 31, Steelers 29 Jags blow huge lead, rally to win Garrard bounces back from big mistakes Backups play key roles in Jacksonville victory Video: Hardships never stopped Garrard Opinion: Steelers always act with class   Discuss: What did you think of game? Team pages: Jaguars  |  Steelers

Much of that change is due to David Garrard, who was handed the starting quarterback job when Byron Leftwich was cut late in the preseason. Garrard cut his interceptions from nine to three even while attempting 80 more passes this year. His job is not a mere game manager. His job is to execute Jacksonville’s short-passing game, spreading the ball out to many different receivers in the absence of a true deep threat (even though the enigmatic Reggie Williams started to become one late in the season).

When Jacksonville wins, it’s because Taylor and Jones-Drew are piling up 150 or so rushing yards while Garrard dinks and dunks (with the occasional stretch) for about 175 or so, but not too much so. The Jaguars’ only 300-yard passing games were thrown not by Garrard, but by backup Quinn Gray — once in a 41-24 loss to New Orleans while Garrard was injured, and again in the second-stringers’ 42-28 loss to Houston.

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As those scores prove, Jacksonville has a strong offense, but it’s built upon clock-eating and ball-control, not engaging in shootouts. If Jacksonville is to make a long playoff run, it needs to manage the clock wisely and keep caring for the ball, especially in the fourth quarter, where the undefeated Patriots have made their living lately, pouncing on the smallest mistakes and using those to unnerve their opponents in order to take over a game.

Two games this year show that while Jacksonville might have the mental wherewithal to keep up with any playoff opponent, they also are still capable of falling into the bad habits that dogged them last year, making them as likely to lose in the first round as make the Super Bowl.

One was a close game they lost to Indianapolis, and another a close game they won at Pittsburgh, in which either game shouldn’t have been in doubt because Jacksonville’s yardage was about double that of their opponents in each game, and their time of possession was at about a 35-25 ratio that in the end spoke more about wasting time than controlling it.

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