Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

2009 record: 3-4, with victories over Houston, Tennessee and St. Louis. The Jaguars have fallen to Indianapolis, Arizona, Seattle and the Titans. They are in third place in the AFC South.

Last year’s record: 5-11, fourth and last in the AFC South.

Record for the last five seasons: 46-37, with two appearances in the playoffs (2005, 2007). The Jaguars did not win a division title in the previous five years.

Last appearance in the playoffs: In the 2007 AFC playoffs, the Jaguars won a wildcard game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh 31-29, but then lost in the divisional playoff round to New England 31-20.

Head coach: Jack Del Rio in his seventh season has a 54-52 record. He’s one of the most tenured coaches in the NFL as only Jeff Fisher, Bill Belichick, Andy Reid and John Fox have been on the job longer. He joined Jacksonville after one season as defensive coordinator in Carolina and three years as linebackers coach in Baltimore.

Coordinators: offensive, Dirk Koetter; defensive, Mel Tucker; special teams, Russ Purnell.

Roster overview: At one point, the Jaguars relied heavily on free agency, but this current team is home grown, with 30 of the 53 players being Jacksonville draft choices. Of that 30, there are 22 from the first, second and third rounds. Among the team’s 24 starters (offensive, defense, kickers), 21 are Jags draft picks, including five first rounders: LT Eugene Monroe, TE Marcedes Lewis, DT John Henderson, DE Derrick Harvey and FS Reggie Nelson. Jacksonville has only two UFAs on the roster, both in backup roles: OT Tra Thomas and S Sean Considine. Veteran Rams WR Torry Holt signed on before this season after he was released by St. Louis.

Quarterback: David Garrard is a former fourth-round pick who has started 23 consecutive games, with 53 starts over his seven seasons. He has a 27-26 record as a starter, with 56 TDs and 34 INTs. His career passer rating is 84.4. Garrard’s best season was in 2007, when he was 9-3 in his 12 starts and threw just three interceptions in 325 attempts. That’s one of the lowest interception percentages in NFL history for a starting quarterback.

Offensive threats: RB Maurice Jones-Drew is the engine of this offense, rushing for 640 yards and catching 161 yards worth of passes. He’s scored 10 times, including an 80-yard run. WR Michael Sims-Walker leads the team in receiving with30 catches for 407 yards and three TDs. Holt has 29 catches for 424 yards. Lewis has two TD catches. Pass protection is a problem for the Jags, as they’ve allowed 19 sacks so far this season.

Defensive stars: LBs Daryl Smith and Justin Durrant lead the team in tackles with 68 and 65. Veteran John Henderson holds down the middle of the defensive line, with last year’s No. 1 choice Derrick Harvey at one of the ends. Jacksonville’s best defensive player is CB Rashean Mathis with a pair of interceptions and 27 over his seven-season career. Rookie Derek Cox also has two picks playing on the other corner.

Special teamers: K Josh Scobee has hit eight of 12 FG attempts, with all the misses beyond 40 yards. P Adam Podlesh averages 41.5 yards per punt. Rookie Mike Thomas has been handling the returns, averaging 5.6 yards on punts and 25.7 yards on kickoffs.

By the numbers: Jaguars are 11th in offensive yardage, averaging 351.7 yards per game. They are eighth in rushing and 19th in passing yardage. On defense, they rank No. 24 in yards allowed at 370.7 yards per game. They are 25th against the run and 26th against the pass. Jacksonville is minus-2 on the turnover ratio.

Top ‘09 draft picks: The Jaguars have really worked and gotten their ‘09 draft class on the field, as all nine choices are on the active roster. They’ve played in 43 games with 27 starts. First-round choice OT Eugene Monroe has been the starter at LT all season, while second-round pick OT Eben Britton has started all season on the right side. Third-round choice DT Terrance Knighton is in the starting lineup and has 23 total tackles, as is the team’s other third-rounder, Cox who has 38 total tackles and those two interceptions. Fourth-round WR Mike Thomas has caught 18 passes for 176 yards and is handling the returns on special teams. Fifth-round WR Jarrett Dillard has four catches for 66 yards, while sixth-round TE Zach Miller has five catches for 30 yards. Seventh-round RB Rashad Jennings has 18 rushes for 68 yards and three catches.

Familiar faces: Del Rio spent two seasons with the Chiefs as a player (1987-88), and is most remembered as the guy who body-slammed Chiefs great Otis Taylor during the ‘87 players strike demonstration outside the team’s offices at Arrowhead Stadium … on the Jaguars active roster as backups are OT Jordan Black and CB Tyron Brackenridge … working as the team’s senior vice-president of business development is Tim Connolly, who was part of the Chiefs front office starting in 1989 that helped turn around the franchise … former Chiefs safety Deron Cherry is a part-owner of the Jaguars.