National Football League

Redskins-Jaguars Preview

Published Dec. 24, 2010 9:56 p.m. ET

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The Jacksonville Jaguars could have clinched the AFC South title with a victory in their last game. Now, they are going to need some help to even make the playoffs.

The Jaguars might have an even harder time bouncing back from a critical divisional loss if Maurice Jones-Drew is unable to play when they host the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Jones-Drew, the NFL's second-leading rusher with 1,324 yards, was downgraded to doubtful on Friday's injury report after missing a third straight practice due to knee problems.

Coach Jack Del Rio wouldn't reveal if he expected Jones-Drew to play, only saying the team is "going to monitor his condition throughout the weekend."

Jones-Drew had a streak of six straight 100-yard games snapped last Sunday, and Jacksonville (8-6) missed a chance to wrap up its first division title since 1999 with a 34-24 loss to Indianapolis.

David Garrard was charged with two fumbles on botched handoffs to Jones-Drew in the third and was intercepted to end the quarter. Despite facing a team that was among the league's worst against the run, Jacksonville was held to a season-low 67 yards rushing, including 46 by Jones-Drew.

"You've got to man up," said Jones-Drew, who took the blame for the two fumbles. "I didn't play well. Everybody else, guys were doing a great job. I didn't play well at all. There's no sugarcoating it at all."

The loss was just the second in seven games for the Jaguars, who no longer control their playoff fate.

They can still win the division by winning their next two games while the Colts lose either to Oakland or Tennessee. Gaining one of the AFC's two wild-card berths is less likely considering Jacksonville is two games behind Baltimore and the New York Jets for those spots.

"We're going to focus on getting over this one," Del Rio said. "We've got two games left and we have an opportunity to finish strong as a team. We still have hope remaining. We have to focus on playing our very best football and let the rest of it take care of itself."

Del Rio and the Jaguars are trying to avoid a finish like last year. They were 7-5 and in position for a wild-card spot but lost their final four games.

If Jones-Drew can't play, Rashad Jennings is likely to get the bulk of the carries for a Jacksonville offense which ranks third in the NFL with 151.4 rushing yards per game.

The Redskins (5-9) are allowing 134.4 per game on the ground, including 163.7 in the last six contests.

Washington could find it even tougher to stop the run after placing linemen Maake Kemoeatu and Phillip Daniels on injured reserve Wednesday.

Another player who won't take the field Sunday is Donovan McNabb, now relegated to third-string after serving as the backup last week to new starter Rex Grossman. McNabb spoke publicly this week for the first time since being benched for the rest of the season, saying he felt disrespected by coach Mike Shanahan.

"People are going to question you all the time," Shanahan said. "It's part of the process, but you've got to do what you believe is right."

McNabb now will be behind backup John Beck as well as Grossman, who made his first start in two years last Sunday in a 33-30 loss at Dallas. He threw for 322 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Grossman's touchdown pass to Chris Cooley tied the game with 7:37 left, but Washington gave up a field goal in the final minute en route to its fourth straight loss.

Despite the uncomfortable situation McNabb's benching has created in Washington, the Redskins were pleased with the results they received from Grossman. The 30 points were a season high and came after the team averaged 13.8 over the previous four contests.

"He is so intense," Cooley said. "He has a quick tempo and he gets us to the ball as fast as he can get us to the ball. He called a lot of plays on first down; he called a lot of plays quick. He got to the ball when they were moving around on defense and they weren't able to make adjustments. When he finally got into a rhythm, we got into a good rhythm."

Washington is 3-1 all-time against Jacksonville. The teams last met in 2006 with the Redskins winning 36-30.