JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Aaron Glenn, Matt Jones and LaBrandon Toefield were inactive for Jacksonville’s game last Monday night, standing on the sideline in warmup suits and watching their teammates lose to Indianapolis.
They stepped into starring roles Sunday at in the Jaguars 24-23 win at Tampa Bay.
Glenn had a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown. Toefield converted a crucial fourth-down play, had a short touchdown run and returned three kickoffs for 57 yards. Jones caught the game-winning TD pass, a one-handed catch in the end zone that ended with him barely getting a second foot in bounds.
“We had numerous guys in backup roles that were called upon to produce and were thrust into duty on a moment’s notice and went in and did a heck of a job executing their assignments,” coach Jack Del Rio said Monday.
“That tells you these guys are paying attention, they’re working hard in the preparation end, and even though they’re not the known starter, they’re taking their preparation very seriously. When we called upon them, they played well.”
Glenn made his first start for Jacksonville, filling in for cornerback Brian Williams (hamstring). The 14-year pro made an immediate impact. when he picked off Jeff Garcia’s sideline pass to Joey Galloway and ran untouched for a touchdown that gave the Jaguars (5-2) a 17-3 lead in the second quarter.
He came up big again late in the game, covering Ike Hilliard (three catches for 23 yards) and helping keep the Bucs from getting into field goal range on either of their final two drives.
“I’m just happy that the opportunity presented itself to go out and play,” said Glenn, who was inactive for five of the first six games. “I’ve never been a guy on any team that’s going to say, ‘I should be playing in front of this guy or I should be playing in front of that guy.’ That’s never been my attitude, that’s never been my deal. I just want to go out and help a team win a championship.”
Drafted to help the offense replace five-time Pro-Bowler Jimmy Smith, Jones hasn’t delivered. He caught 36 passes for 432 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie in 2005, then slightly upped his production last year with 41 receptions for 643 yards and four scores.
Not convinced Jones could be a go-to receiver, the Jags signed Dennis Northcutt in free agency and drafted Mike Walker in the third round and speedster John Broussard in the seventh. The moves forced Jones out of the starting lineup and down the depth chart.
Also criticized by Del Rio for his sometimes “lackadaisical body language,” Jones was inactive for two games and had eight catches for 74 yards in the other four. He even dropped the first ball thrown his way Sunday.
But he made up for it late, catching the 8-yard fade pass over Phillip Buchanon for the go-ahead score.
“The wins make everything feel better,” Jones said. “And when you help the team win and feel like you did something, like score a touchdown, it just feels good.”
Toefield helped out for the first time this season. He was active because the Jaguars weren’t sure how effective Maurice Jones-Drew would be after spraining his knee against Indianapolis.
Jones-Drew played, but Toefield – much like Glenn and Jones – had the big plays.
“Toefield did a nice job,” Del Rio said. A big fourth-down conversion where he really ran over a would-be tackler there and then did a nice job punching it in around the goal line. He’s shown when he’s been up and activated, he’s generally a productive guy for us.”
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