David Garrard passed for 230 yards with two touchdowns and Fred Taylor rushed for 132 yards with another score as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Carolina Panthers, 37-6, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Garrard finished 20-of-36 passing, while Reggie Williams had five catches for 90 yards and a score for Jacksonville (9-4), which rebounded from a 28-25 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on December 2 and has won four of its last five games. Jacksonville is now one game ahead of Cleveland for the top wild-card playoff spot in the AFC. Clint Ingram had a 39-yard interception return for a TD in the win.

Jacksonville remains two games behind Indianapolis for the top spot in the AFC South.

Taylor, who has rushed for 100 or more yards in three straight games, surpassed Eddie George for 19th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list.

Vinny Testaverde was 13-of-28 passing for 84 yards and an interception for Carolina (5-8), which has dropped six of its last seven. Matt Moore replaced Testaverde midway through the fourth quarter and completed 3-of-10 passes for 21 yards. John Kasay accounted for the Panthers' only points with two field goals.

DeShaun Foster had only 46 yards rushing on 11 carries for Carolina.

With Jacksonville holding a 10-6 advantage, Carolina got the ball to start the third quarter, but Foster fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and the Jaguars recovered on the Panthers' 21. After Garrard hit Ernest Wilford for seven yards to convert a key third down, the Jags' signal-caller hit Matt Jones in the back of the end zone three plays later for a six-yard scoring strike, upping the lead to 17-6.

"Having a fumble on the first play of the third quarter didn't help," Carolina head coach John Fox said about the Panthers' struggles. "Thats the way the ball bounces and the way it bounced for us today.

Josh Scobee's 20-yard field goal late in the third put the finishing touches on a 14-play, 72-yard drive to make it a 20-6 game. Jacksonville then tacked on seven more when Ingram picked off Testaverde's pass intended for Brad Hoover and raced 39 yards for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Taylor added an 80-yard TD run with 9:48 left in the fourth and Scobee's field goal with just over three minutes to play accounted for the final margin.

"I think everybody can see the improvement," Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio said of the Jaguars' offense. "We're seeing the fruits of our efforts on the practice field."

After both teams struggled offensively in the early going, Jacksonville found the end zone with 3:30 remaining in the opening quarter. Following a nice punt return by Dennis Northcutt, the Jaguars had good field position, starting on their own 45.

Taylor then carried twice, picking up a first down for the Jags, and four plays later, facing a 4th-and-2 situation, Garrard connected with Maurice Jones-Drew for 13 yards, taking it to the Carolina 22-yard line. The next play Garrard found Williams in the middle of the field and after breaking several tackles, walked into the end zone, capping the seven-play, 55-yard drive.

Kasay's 49-yard field goal early in the second stanza cut Carolina's deficit to 7-3. But Jacksonville answered with three of its own when Scobee booted a 21-yard chip shot to make it a 10-3 game with 5:33 left in the half.

Following a fumble by Taylor on Jacksonville's ensuing possession, Carolina recovered on the Jaguars' 40, but had to settle for a Kasay 39-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining in the half. Jacksonville wasn't unable to get anything going in the closing minute and took a 10-6 lead to the intermission.

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