Jaguars face unthinkable task

The Jaguars are one of six franchises never to participate in a Super Bowl, a fact that doesn’t appear likely to change next Saturday night. Not that the Jaguars lack the talent or moxie to make it to Arizona; it’s just that they have the unenviable task of trying to knock off the unbeaten Patriots in Foxboro in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

The unknown, gritty squad from the Sun Belt will assume the role of America’s team on Saturday as those outside of Boston (plus a few bandwagoners that we could all do without) will be pulling for Jack Del Rio’s club.

The Jaguars will have to pound Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew on the ground, which is a distinct possibility considering the one vulnerable spot on the Patriots defense appears to be their run defense. But ultimately it will come down to David Garrard, because Bill Belichick will try and take away what the Jags do best: run the ball. That said, Garrard’s legacy can grow in massive proportions if he can pull the upset of the year.

As much as I would love to see the Jags knock off the smarmy Pats, the prediction stands as follows: Patriots, 27-13.

It’s not that I don’t believe the Jags can’t win. But divine intervention won’t let the Patriots’ record-setting season take such an ugly turn. Maybe the Colts or Cowboys or Packers will knock them off down the road, which I (and would imagine most others) would be just fine with. But wouldn’t it be nice if Jacksonville took a step closer to removing itself from that dubious non-Super Bowl list?