Sunday, November 21, 2010
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
The Jacksonville Jaguars easily could have forgotten about their last game against Cleveland.
It came in the 2009 season finale, with both teams out of postseason hunt. It came on a frozen field in negative wind-chill temperature. It came with several players and coaches who are no longer on the team.
Instead of brushing that 23-17 loss aside, the Jaguars have brought it up repeatedly this week. And with good reason.
“If you ever get beat up in a fight and you fight the guy again, I don’t think there will ever be a letdown, even if you win two fights before,” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “They beat us up pretty bad. I remember leaving that game sore.”
The Browns manhandled Jacksonville on both lines in January. They held Jones-Drew to 82 yards rushing, sacked David Garrard three times and ran at will. The Browns finished with 214 yards on the ground.
The Jaguars (5-4) don’t want it to happen again when the Browns (3-6) visit today.
“We got whooped. We got beat down pretty bad,” Jones-Drew said. “That definitely adds to the preparation, knowing what happened last year and how they beat us.”
The win may have been even more pivotal for Cleveland. The Browns ended the season on a four-game winning streak and likely saved coach Eric Mangini’s job.
The rematch could have considerably less intrigue. Both teams are coming off dramatic finishes, although they ended up on opposite ends of those games.
The Browns took the New York Jets to overtime, but lost on Santonio Holmes’ 37-yard touchdown reception in the closing seconds of the game.
Although the tough loss could make it tough for the Browns to get into the postseason hunt, especially with four of their next five games on the road, running back Peyton Hillis believes it shows the team is on the right track.
“I think our team is finally hitting full stride,” Hillis said. “I think that we are coming together as a team, as a group and we are starting to feel each out a lot better than we did at the beginning of the year. I don’t see any signs of a letdown.”
With recent wins against New Orleans and New England, the Browns feel like they’re playing their best football since the end of last season.