2007 Jacksonville Jaguars season The 2007 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 12th season for the team in the National Football League . They improved upon their 8 – 8 record in 2006 where they finished third in the AFC South and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2005 . Offseason . Coaching staff changes . After the 2006 season , the Jaguars announced that offensive coordinator Carl Smith , special teams coordinator Pete Rodriguez , quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson , and wide receivers coach Steve Walters would not be returning . Along with these , special teams assistant Mark Michaels ' contract had expired and would not be renewed . When hiring , Del Rio created a new position on the staff , assistant wide receivers coach , and so needed to fill six positions . By early February he completed the staff with Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator , Mike Shula as quarterbacks coach , Todd Monken as wide receivers coach , Robert Prince as wide receivers assistant , Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator , and Tom Williams as special teams assistant . Along with the new staff , assistant head coach Mike Tice will take over coaching of the tight ends . Departures . After a number of player arrests from the end of 2006 season , cornerback Ahmad Carroll , who was signed by the Jaguars in October after being waived by the Green Bay Packers and played in only one game with the Jaguars , was arrested in May on weapons and drug charges , prompting the Jaguars to release him . Also , in a move that shocked even the Jaguars players , nine year veteran strong safety Donovin Darius was released . On August 31 , 2007 Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio announced in a press conference that Byron Leftwich would be traded or released within the next 72 hours . David Garrard will take over the starting duties . The specific reasons were not disclosed . Del Rio was quoted as saying that he " felt a conviction in his heart that Garrard was the guy for the job and he ' s earned it " . The Jaguars released 19 players , traded one player , and placed two players on injured reserve to meet the 53 man roster requirements for the beginning of the season . Byron Leftwich , Dan Connolly , Jamaal Fudge , Nick Greisen , Seth Payne , Charles Sharon , Bruce Thornton , Dee Webb , Josh Gattis , Joe Anoai , Kevin Coley , Walter Curry , Ryan Gibbons , Tyler King , Jamar Landrom , Roy Manning , Pete McMahon , Rashod Moulton , and Isaac Smolko were released . Alvin Pearman was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for an undisclosed draft choice . James Wyche and Mike Walker were placed on injured reserve for injuries to groin and knee respectively . Signings . The off - season brought the arrival of seven free agents to the Jaguars . On offense , offensive tackle Tony Pashos and tight ends Jermaine Wiggins , Richard Angulo and Isaac Smolko were signed . On defense , safety Kevin McCadam and cornerback Bruce Thornton . Additionally , first - year punter Tony Yelk was signed to the special teams . In addition to the new signings to the team , Tony Gilbert , Derrick Wimbush , Kenny Pettway , Quinn Gray Ernest Wilford and Josh Scobee signed contract s and unrestricted free agent LaBrandon Toefield re - signed . Preseason . Schedule . The Jacksonville Jaguars pre - season schedule was announced on April 11 , 2007 . Playoffs . Schedule . Wild Card Round : at Pittsburgh Steelers . Jacksonville gained only 239 yards of offense , but still managed to win on Josh Scobee ' s 25 - yard field goal with 37 seconds left in the game . The Jaguars defense sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger six times , intercepted three of his passes , and forced him to lose a fumble on the final drive of the game . Pittsburgh opened up the scoring by marching 80 yards in 10 plays on their first drive and finishing it off with Najeh Davenport ' s 1 - yard touchdown run . But Jaguars running back Maurice Jones - Drew returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the 1 - yard line ( the longest play in NFL postseason history that did not result in a touchdown ) , and Fred Taylor scored a 1 - yard touchdown run on the next play . Early in the second quarter , Jacksonville defensive back Rashean Mathis intercepted pass from Roethlisberger and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown . Then shorty after the kickoff , Mathis intercepted another pass at the Steelers 46 - yard line , setting up David Garrard ' s 43 - yard touchdown pass to Jones - Drew and making the score 21 - 7 . Later in the second quarter , the Steelers took advantage of a missed Scobee field goal by driving all the way to the Jaguars 21 - yard line . But defensive tackle Derek Landri intercepted a short pass from Roethlisberger , and the score remained 21 - 7 at halftime . In the second half , the Steelers scored on their first four drives . Three plays after the opening kickoff , linebacker James Farrior ' s interception of a Garrard pass set up Josh Reed ' s 28 - yard field goal . Jacksonville responded by driving 82 yards in 8 plays , with Garrard rushing for 15 yards and completing two passes to Ernest Wilford for 39 , while Jones - Drew capped the drive with a 10 - yard touchdown run , increasing their lead to 28 - 10 . But the Steelers drove right back , and on the first play of the fourth quarter , facing fourth down and 12 on the Jags 37 - yard line , Roethlisberger threw a 37 - yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes . Then after a punt , Roethlisberger completed six passes for 65 yards on a 69 - yard drive that ended with his 14 - yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller . The Steelers attempted a two - point conversion to cut the lead to three points , and Rothlisberger initially completed a pass to Hines Ward , but the play was nullified by a holding penalty and Pittsburgh ' s second attempt was incomplete , keeping the score at 28 – 23 . Three plays after the ensuing kickoff , Steers defensive back Ike Taylor intercepted a pass from Garrard and returned it 31 yards to the Jacksonville 16 - yard line . Following a pass interference penalty against the Jaguars in the end zone on a fourth down play , Davenport scored his second 1 - yard touchdown run of the day . The two point conversion failed again , but the Steelers took the lead , 29 – 28 . Jacksonville was unable to score on their next drive , but they forced the Steelers to punt after three plays and Dennis Northcutt returned the punt 16 yards , giving the Jaguars the ball at their own 49 - yard line with 1 timeout remaining and 2 : 38 left to play . Three plays later on fourth down and 2 , Garrard dropped back to pass , but then ran back to the line and took off for a 32 - yard burst to the Steelers 11 - yard line . After a few more running plays , Scobee kicked a 25 - yard field goal , giving his team a 31 – 29 lead . The Steelers got the ball back with 37 seconds left , but Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray sealed the victory by forcing a fumble which was recovered by defensive tackle Derek Landri . With the win , the Jaguars improved their overall record to 12 – 5 . Divisional Round : at New England Patriots . Patriots quarterback Tom Brady set the NFL record for completion percentage in a single game ( 92 . 9 % ) with 26 of 28 completions for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns , while running back Laurence Maroney added 162 total yards ( 122 on the ground ) . Overall , New England gained 401 yards and didn ' t punt the ball until 31 seconds remained in the fourth quarter . Jacksonville took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in 9 plays , featuring two receptions by Marcedes Lewis for 57 yards , on the way to David Garrard ' s 9 - yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones . The Patriots then went on a 74 - yard drive and scored with Tom Brady ' s 3 - yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson . On Jacksonville ' s next possession , New England lineman Ty Warren forced a fumble while sacking Garrard , and linebacker Mike Vrabel recovered it at the Jaguars 29 - yard line . Several plays later , Maroney scored a 1 - yard touchdown run to give New England a 14 – 7 lead . Jaguars running back Maurice Jones - Drew muffed the ensuing kickoff and was downed at his own 5 - yard line . The Jaguars then moved the ball 95 yards in 11 plays without even facing a third down and scoring with Garrard ' s 6 - yard touchdown pass to Ernest Wilford . For the third time in a row , New England drove deep into Jacksonville territory . But this time the drive stalled at the 17 - yard line and ended with no points when Stephen Gostkowski missed a 35 - yard field goal with 53 seconds left in the first half . On the opening drive of the second half , Brady completed 7 of 8 passes for 54 yards on an 82 - yard drive . On the last play , he took a snap in shotgun formation with Kevin Faulk to his right , Brady jumped in the air with his arms raised to make it look like a play used by the Patriots before where Faulk took the direct snap . The Jaguars defense followed Faulk , leaving Wes Welker open in the end zone , and Brady threw him the ball for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 21 – 14 lead . The play has been referred to as the " Statue of Liberty " . Jacksonville responded with a drive to the New England 21 - yard line , but receiver Dennis Northcutt dropped a pass on third down , forcing them to settle for a Josh Scobee 39 - yard field goal , cutting the score to 21 – 17 . On New England ' s next drive , Jacksonville ' s Derek Landri was assessed a roughing - the - passer penalty , turning Welker ' s 6 - yard catch into a 21 - yard gain . Maroney gained 40 yards with his next two carries , and following two more Welker receptions , Brady threw a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Watson giving New England a 28 – 17 lead . An unnecessary roughness penalty and a 25 - yard reception by Reggie Williams on the Jacksonville ' s next drive set up a 25 - yard field goal by Scobee , which cut the Jaguars deficit to one touchdown , 28 – 20 . On the second play after the kickoff , Brady completed a 52 - yard strike to Donté Stallworth , setting up Gostkowski ' s second field goal attempt to put New England back up by two scores , 31 – 20 . Then , with 3 : 46 left in the game , Patriots safety , Rodney Harrison , intercepted a pass from Garrard at the Patriots ' 31 - yard line , ending any hope of a Jacksonville comeback . Harrison ' s interception was his 7th career postseason pick , a Patriots record . This was also his fourth consecutive postseason game with an interception , tying an NFL record held by Aeneas Williams . With this win , the Patriots advanced to the AFC title game for the second year in a row and extended their perfect record to 17 – 0 , matching the final record of the 1972 Miami Dolphins .