Jaguars Spin Their Wheels Inside the 20

A troubling pattern by the Jacksonville Jaguars--a failure to score touchdowns inside the 20--led to a typical finish Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Mark Brunell threw for a season-high 317 yards and Mike Hollis tied his team record with five field goals, giving the Jaguars a 29-27 victory and keeping them tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC Central.

“Once again, field goals instead of touchdowns did make it close,” Jacksonville Coach Tom Coughlin said. “Believe me, I’m not complaining. As long as you win, that’s the key.”

In last week’s 31-26 loss at Cincinnati, the Jaguars scored only one touchdown on six trips inside the 20. Against the Ravens, they had to settle for field goals on four trips inside the 20, and it almost cost them.

“We’ve got to have a killer instinct,” Brunell said.

The Jaguars (9-4) have never lost to the Baltimore-Cleveland franchise, although they have had to come from behind in the fourth quarter in the last four meetings.

This time, the Ravens (4-8-1) had a chance to return the favor.

Eric Zeier, taking over in the second half for an injured Vinny Testaverde, had two fourth-quarter touchdowns passes, with the second--a seven-yard play to Eric Green--pulling Baltimore within 29-27 with 1:10 left.

But on the two-point conversion try, Zeier tripped over the leg of left tackle Jonathan Ogden on a draw, and the Ravens failed to recover the onside kick.

The Jaguars won their 13th consecutive game at home, but failed to make the kind of statement Coughlin wanted--a dominant performance by a team trying to hit its stride for the playoffs.

“We want to be stronger,” defensive end Jeff Lageman said. “But the important thing is we’ve won three out of our last four. We want to be where we need to be for the playoffs, and we’re getting there.”