By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- With an 11-point lead and the ball to start the second half, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a chance to make a statement.
Instead, they stumbled.
David Garrard's first pass in the third quarter was intercepted, a huge turning point in Sunday's 24-20 loss to the New York Giants. It was the first step in Jacksonville's second-half collapse.
There also were four sacks, two defensive lapses and a questionable offensive pass interference call that led to Jacksonville's meltdown.
"We certainly had many opportunities," coach Jack Del Rio said Monday. "It wasn't any one play or one person that was the difference. It was simply us not executing and taking advantage of some of the opportunities that we had."
Although the Jaguars (6-5) lost, they didn't lose any ground in the AFC South. They remain tied with Indianapolis, but wasted a chance to open up a division lead.
Their downfall started on the first play after halftime.
Garrard's pass was a little behind Mike Sims-Walker, who tipped it into Terrell Thomas' hands.
"Here we are with the lead and a chance to go out and make a statement, drive and bury them," Del Rio said. "Obviously, we'd like to have that not go that way."
It got worse.
Two possessions later, Garrard took a sack on a first-and-10 play at the Giants 38. The 14-yard loss was too much to overcome.
"That was a killer," Del Rio said. "We've got to find a way to dirt that ball."
The Jaguars (6-5) played a nearly perfect first half. They scored on all three possessions, forced a turnover in the red zone and held the Giants to short field goals. But the second half was completely different, with Giants overcoming a 17-6 deficit.
The most trouble came in the fourth quarter.
Eli Manning hooked up with Mario Manningham for a 26-yard touchdown, and Ahmad Bradshaw added a two-point conversion that tied the game at 17. Manningham got lost in Jacksonville's zone scheme. The other defensive error came when safety Courtney Greene missed a tackle on Kevin Boss, leading to a 32-yard score that put the Giants up for good.
In between those big plays, Jacksonville had to settle for a field goal and had a 23-yard gain negated when receiver Kassim Osgood was called for offensive pass interference on a screen pass.
Osgood and Del Rio argued the call, saying receivers are allowed to engage defenders in press coverage on screen plays.
"That was ridiculous," Garrard said. "They saw what they saw, and we have to live with it. It definitely hurt us. We had our chances, we had our shots."
Even though the Giants dominated the second half, the Jaguars had a final chance. Garrard drove them to the Giants 29, but then got sacked on three consecutive plays. The Giants took advantage of backup tackles Jordan Black and Guy Whimper, overloading blitzes on both ends.
"We had plays we could have made," said Maurice Jones-Drew, who finished with 113 yards rushing and his fourth straight 100-yard game. "We just didn't give Dave enough time."
Garrard injured his left wrist on one of the sacks. He was wearing a splint Monday, but X-rays and other tests showed no damage, only swelling.
"I was pretty worried about it, especially after the game because I never really had too many injuries that felt like it did, especially around my wrist and my arm," Garrard said. "I was pretty worried, but when I got over here, it felt better. It was all fine, just a little swelling."
Received 11/29/10 07:52 pm ET
