No Brunell, No Problem for Jaguars

An injury to Mark Brunell could have spelled doom for Jacksonville. Instead, Jay Fiedler looked more like Brunell than Brunell himself.

Fiedler led the sputtering Jaguars to 18 points in the final 1 1/2 quarters Sunday, completing 12 of 14 passes for 113 yards and scrambling three times for 27 yards in a 24-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Afterward, Coach Tom Coughlin was answering questions about who the starter would be once Jacksonville returns from an off week, assuming Brunell recovers from the bruised ribs that sidelined him.

“Our situation will not change,” Coughlin said. “Hopefully, Mark will be able to rest this week and he’ll be ready to go.”

But before Fiedler entered, the Jaguars continued to struggle on offense in the absence of former coordinator Chris Palmer, who left to coach Cleveland (0-6).

Brunell went 12 for 19 for 109 yards and led the Jaguars to only a pair of field goals by Mike Hollis.

The game didn’t change until late in the third quarter. Jacksonville trailed, 7-6, when linebacker Bryan Schwartz forced a fumble that was recovered by Kevin Hardy at the Cleveland 25.

Three plays later, Fiedler lobbed a pass to the corner of the end zone to Kyle Brady, who extended for a nice catch and a seven-yard touchdown--the first touchdown pass of Fiedler’s career. A two-point conversion made it 14-7.

After Jacksonville forced a punt, Fiedler directed the best drive of the day, a 70-yard march that included completions to three different receivers and ended with a two-yard touchdown run by James Stewart for a 21-7 lead.