Jacksonville at New York


Playoff roster


Depth chart


Statistics


Playoff history

Jacksonville essentially backed into the AFC Central title, thanks to poor, inconsistent play from the other contending teams such as Pittsburgh and Tennessee. After a 10-3 start, the Jaguars staggered to the finish line, losing two straight before winning a meaningless Monday night finale against Pittsburgh.

	Mark Brunell's return to health would give the Jaguars a shot in the arm.

Offense
This is where Jacksonville is in disarray. First, starting quarterback Mark Brunell was injured. Then, backup Jamie Martin took over and suffered a season-ending knee injury. That left the Jags offense in the hands of inexperienced rookie Jonathan Quinn, who was brutal in an eye-opening 50-10 loss to Minnesota in Week 16, but looked better in the win over the Steelers.

With the quarterback problems, rookie running back Fred Taylor is the extent of the offense. He had 1,123 rushing yards, a robust 4.6-yard average and 14 TDs. Taylor also has 44 receptions and three more touchdowns.

The Jags have a Pro Bowl receiver in Jimmy Smith (78 catches, 15.2-yard average, 1,182 yards and eight TD catches), and a former Pro Bowler in Keenan McCardell. With Brunell expected back for the playoffs, you can forget about Jacksonville, which will host New England in a wild-card game, repeating its performance in Minnesota.

The obvious way to slow Jacksonville is to slow down Taylor, who has been consistently active all season. If Brunell is playing, he must be kept in the pocket, because his elusiveness and guts carry him a long way.

Who's hot? Taylor has scored 17 of the Jags' 47 touchdowns, providing more than one-third of their scoring.

Defense
The Jags hope those 50 points allowed to the Vikings were an aberration. There is talent on the defensive side, with linebacker Kevin Hardy leading the way with 178 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Bryce Paup, with 6½ sacks and 31 quarterback pressures, is always a threat. Veteran defensive end Joel Smeenge leads the team with 7½ sacks.

Overall, though, the Jags defense can be porous. They are ranked 26th in the NFL in total defense. They allowed 180 yards rushing to Minnesota, which is known more as a passing team, and 205 to the Steelers. They've allowed 120 or more yards rushing in their previous seven games.

The Jags secondary is ranked 25th in the NFL and has a total of only 13 interceptions made. The leaders are cornerback Aaron Beasley and safety Chris Hudson, with three picks each.

The Jaguars defense, without any true impact players, is definitely vulnerable, but never count out a Tom Coughlin team. His teams are always resilient.

Who's hot? Hardy has been a tackling machine in recent weeks, collecting nine stops in the season finale.

Who's not? What ever happened to defensive end Tony Brackens, who was supposed to be all-world? He has only three sacks and hasn't been a factor.

Special teams
The biggest factor is Reggie Barlow, who leads the AFC with a 13.1-yard punt return average, including an 85-yard touchdown. Barlow is also sixth in the conference with a 25.1-yard kickoff return average. That includes a 91-yard return that actually didn't go for a touchdown. ... Kicker Mike Hollis is a clutch performer and he's dependable, too, having made 21 of 26 field-goal attempts.

Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes a weekly AFC notebook for ESPN.com that appears each Wednesday during the regular season.