Jones-Drew scores 69th career touchdown; 2nd-most in team history
Maurice Jones-Drew scored his sixth touchdown of the season and 69th of his career with a nine-yard reception from Blaine Gabbert in the second quarter. The 69 career touchdowns (59 rushing, 8 receiving, 2 returns) are tied with Jimmy Smith for the second-most in team history.
He has a touchdown in four of the last five games.
Jaguars Most Career Touchdowns
*RK PLAYER, YEARS TDS GAMES *
1. Fred Taylor (1998-2008) 70 140
2. Maurice Jones-Drew (2006-11) 69 89
Jimmy Smith (1995-2005) 69 171
Jones-Drew takes NFL rushing lead
Maurice Jones-Drew finished with a season-high 188 yards from scrimmage (97 rushing, 91 receiving), the third-most of his career, and accounted for 61.4 percent of the Jaguars offense (188 of 306). Jones-Drew, who has 1,137 rushing yards, had 97 yards on 20 carries against the Chargers and surpassed Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy (1,134) for the NFL rushing lead through 12 games. He has at least 84 rushing yards in 11 of 12 games.
The 20 carries marked Jones-Drew's 29th career game with 20-plus carries and the Jaguars are 18-11 in those games. He has 20 or more carries in seven of 12 games this season.
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Getting involved in the passing game
Maurice Jones-Drew finished with a season-high six receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown. The 91 yards were the third-most of his career and most since 2008 (113, Nov. 23, 2008 vs. Minnesota). He had a 48-yard reception in the second quarter, the third-longest of his career (75, Nov. 21, 2010 vs. Cleveland; 51, Oct. 1, 2006 at Washington). The 48-yard reception was his 12th career reception of 25-plus yards, the most in franchise history by a running back. He scored his eighth career receiving touchdown in the second quarter, tied with Fred Taylor for the most by a running back in franchise history.
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Shorts scores first career touchdown
Rookie wide receiver Cecil Shorts hooked up with Blaine Gabbert for his first career touchdown, a five-yard reception in the second quarter. Shorts also returned three kickoffs for 63 yards (21.0 avg.) with a long of 23.
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Blaine Gabbert
2011 first-round pick Blaine Gabbert completed 19 of 33 passes for 195 yards with a career-high two touchdowns and one interception for an 82.3 passer rating. Both of Gabbert's touchdown passes came in the second quarter to Maurice Jones-Drew (9 yards) and Cecil Shorts (5 yards). Gabbert finished the first half 11 of 15 passing for 139 yards for a 113.6 passer rating. He has a touchdown pass in seven of his first 10 starts.
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Offense finds its groove in second quarter
The Jaguars scored a season-high 14 points in the second quarter on two touchdown passes by Blaine Gabbert. Maurice Jones-Drew scored on a nine-yard reception and rookie Cecil Shorts had a five-yard catch. It marked the first time this season the Jaguars scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions and first game in 2011 with two touchdowns in the first half.
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Two rookies make NFL debut
2011 rookie free agent DuJuan Harris and linebacker Stephen Franklin made their NFL debuts against the Chargers. Harris spent the first 11 weeks of the season on the practice squad before he was signed to the active roster on Nov. 30. Franklin was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Cincinnati and spent one week on Seattle's 53-man roster but did not see action. He was signed by Jacksonville to the practice squad on Oct. 26 and promoted to the active roster on Monday.
Dillard and Rutland earn first career starts
Third-year wide receiver Jarett Dillard and rookie cornerback Kevin Rutland made their first NFL starts. Dillard finished with two receptions for 14 yards. Rutland has played in 11 games since making the opening day roster as a free agent from Missouri. The Jaguars have lost three cornerbacks to season-ending injuries in Rashean Mathis, Derek Cox and William Middleton.
Tidbits
- The Jaguars allowed back-to-back scores to begin the game for only the third time through 12 games (New Orleans, Pittsburgh).
- Tackle Guy Whimper had a 17-yard reception in the third quarter.
- The Chargers' 38 points were the most by a Jaguars opponent through 12 games and were only the fifth Jaguars opponent to eclipse 20 points .
- The Jaguars fell to 0-6 in 2011 when trailing after the first quarter.
- Center Brad Meester started his 54th straight game, the most on the roster and the eighth-longest streak in team history. Meester owns the franchise record with 92 consecutive starts from Sept. 3, 2000 through Dec. 4, 2005.
- Mike Thomas finished with two receptions for 21 yards and is the only Jaguar with a reception in all 12 games.
- The Jaguars compiled 306 total yards (129 rushing, 177 passing), the second-highest total of the season (Tennessee, 323).
- The Chargers had eight plays of 20-plus yards. The Jaguars entered the game allowing an NFL-low 29 plays of 20-plus yards.
