By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- David Garrard set the franchise record for touchdown passes in a season, enjoyed five of the best eight games of his career and led the Jacksonville Jaguars to several late wins.
His performance Sunday overshadowed all of it.
With star running back Maurice Jones-Drew sitting out because of a knee injury, the Jaguars put more on Garrard's shoulders and he struggled to handle it.
"We put too big of a load on David," coach Jack Del Rio said after the game. "He wasn't able to carry that load."
Garrard had two turnovers and several near misses in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. He showed coaches, teammates and front office personnel -- again -- that he's far from the elite quarterback they need to get to the next level.
Del Rio called Garrard a middle-tier quarterback after last season, and team owner Wayne Weaver challenged him to do more in the offseason.
Garrard responded with some of the best games of his career. But he's been mediocre the last six weeks, throwing eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions. His flaws really came to light the last two games, with Jones-Drew slowed one week and sidelined the next.
Garrard had two turnovers in a loss at Indianapolis and was considerably worse against the Redskins.
He struggled to read Washington's cloaked defensive schemes and nearly ended the day with five turnovers. He badly overthrew a pass to wide-open tight end Zach Miller that Carlos Rogers intercepted. Rogers set up a short touchdown drive that put the Redskins ahead 10-0 in the first quarter.
Trailing 10-7 late in the first half, Garrard scrambled out of the pocket, and instead of getting rid of the ball, took a sack. The ball popped out, and Rob Jackson recovered it in the end zone for an apparent touchdown. Officials, however, ruled Garrard was down by contact. The play was reviewed and upheld.
Garrard fumbled twice in the third quarter, but the Jaguars recovered both. He tied the game in the fourth on a 20-yard run, but followed that with his biggest gaffe of the season.
Under heavy pressure on the third play in overtime, Garrard floated a pass toward the sideline. Kevin Barnes stepped in front of Marcedes Lewis, picked it off and put the Redskins in position for Graham Gano's 31-yard kick.
The Jaguars refused to point fingers Monday, saying the offensive line and receivers were partly to blame for all the offensive problems.
"People, like my family members, always want to say, 'David this, David that,'" fullback Greg Jones said. "But you've got to look at the offense as a whole. All of it works hand in hand. You can't put everything on David all the time. If we give him more time in the pocket, he can make better decisions. People got to stop blaming David all the time."
It's probably no coincidence, though, that Jacksonville is 6-0 when Garrard has thrown 22 or fewer passes this season, not including a lopsided loss against Tennessee in October when he got knocked out of the game early with a concussion.
Garrard completed 22 of 38 passes for 299 yards against the Redskins, and was sacked four times.
"I don't have a problem throwing the ball that many times," Garrard said. "We have to do whatever we have to do, and if it comes down to throwing the ball, then we just have to make those plays."
Despite the consecutive losses, the Jaguars still have a chance to win the AFC South. They need to win at Houston Sunday and have Tennessee upset Indianapolis.
Players refused to focus on the postseason, instead preferring to look at how much better the offseason will feel with a win in the finale. They held a players-only meeting Monday, hoping to avoid a three-game losing streak that would feel eerily similar to last year's four-game slide.
"It feels like a replay and nobody wants that," guard Uche Nwaneri said. "It's not so much the playoffs at this point. It's more not allowing yourself to be categorized as a that can't finish the season. That's what everyone's going to be focused on.
"I personally would be upset, embarrassed, if we lost a third game in a row in the same fashion as we did last year, just not playing well at all and not giving ourselves a chance."
Received 12/27/10 07:37 pm ET
