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The Jaguars are going back to the playoffs and their postseason road is likely to begin with a trip back to Pittsburgh.

“We want to get in there and win. We’re not happy to just get in. We want to win,” veteran defensive end Paul Spicer said following the Jaguars’ ridiculously easy, 49-11 win over the visiting Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

At 11-4, the Jaguars have clinched the number five seed in the AFC playoffs. They are locked in that position with one game remaining, which means it’s likely coach Jack Del Rio will rest several starters next Sunday in Houston when the Jaguars close the regular season.

“We’ll enjoy Christmas. The big question will be: How much are you going to play guys?” Del Rio told reporters following Sunday’s victory.

Translation: Don’t expect Fred Taylor or David Garrard to play much, if at all.

Sunday’s win was over an inferior Raiders team that used the game to get experience for their rookie quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, the first pick of this year’s draft. Russell was in way over his head, finishing the game with three interceptions and a 17.4 passer rating that was at 0.0 for most of the day.

The Raiders were Del Rio’s favorite team as a boy growing up in the Bay Area, but there didn’t seem to be any warm and fuzzy feelings left over from his youth, as the Jaguars poured it on early and late in coasting to one of the most lopsided wins in team history. The defining moment of the game was an emotional meltdown by defensive tackle Warren Sapp late in the first half, as the Jaguars threatened to score their fifth touchdown of the half.


Sapp was penalized three times for unsportmanlike conduct during a between-plays temper tantrum. Teammate Derrick Burgess was also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, moving the ball from the Raiders’ 35-yard line to the two, from where Garrard mercifully threw an interception. Sapp was ejected from the game.

The Jaguars aren’t the only team in the AFC that clinched a playoff berth on Sunday. Pittsburgh clinched the AFC North title by virtue of Cleveland’s loss in Cincinnati. As it stands now, Pittsburgh would be the four seed and that would send the Jaguars back to Pittsburgh, where the Jaguars won, 29-22, a week ago.

San Diego would be the number three seed, provided they remain no worse than tied with the Steelers. The Chargers host the Broncos on Monday Night Football, then finish the season at Oakland. Pittsburgh finishes at Baltimore next week.

“They’re both outstanding teams,” Del Rio said when asked to comment on the likelihood of going back to Pittsburgh. Del Rio declined to concede that Pittsburgh, not San Diego, will be the Jaguars’ destination.

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