Jack Del Rio has already seen enough of Luke McCown.

Following a nasty performance in New York over the weekend, Del Rio has decided to bench McCown and will start rookie signal caller Blaine Gabbert against the Panthers this Sunday. Gabbert, the 10th overall pick in April’s draft, will oppose fellow rookie quarterback Cam Newton, who has already thrown over 800 yards in his first two NFL games.

It was easy to see this move coming when the Jags dumped David Garrard shortly before the season. Del Rio and the front office had seemingly wanted to get rid of Garrard for years but they never had a suitable backup to make the move. When Gabbert was drafted back in April, he was viewed as a raw prospect but that was okay because he could learn behind Garrard for a year…or so everyone thought. But a year was apparently too much for Del Rio and Co., as Garrard was released rather abruptly on September 6.

McCown played fairly well in the team’s season opener against Tennessee, but understandably struggled miserably against Rex Ryan’s stout defense last week while throwing four nasty interceptions. Gabbert will face a Carolina defense that has struggled against the run in its first two games, so expect the Jaguars to largely keep the ball on the ground this Sunday and let the rookie be a “game manager” in his professional debut as a starter.

Here are five quick-hit observations on the AFC South following the Jaguars’ 20-17 overtime loss to the Redskins and the Colts’ 31-26 win over the Raiders on Sunday.

1. How the South can be won.
If the Colts beat the Titans next Sunday, they’ll have 10 wins on the season. If the Jaguars beat the Texans next Sunday, they’ll have nine wins. Quick math tells me that the Colts would therefore have more victories than the Jaguars and they would win the AFC South. So the mission is simple for the Colts next week: Just win baby. If the Colts lose to the Titans and the Jaguars beat the Texans, they they’d both finish at 9-7 and Jacksonville would win the South because they would have the better division record (4-2). But none of this matters because Peyton Manning isn’t losing at home next week to a team that has nothing to play for. Sorry Jacksonville, but you screwed the pooch last week when you could have won the division then.

2. What a horrendous effort by the Jaguars against the Redskins.
I know Maurice Jones-Drew is Jacksonville’s best player and essentially their entire offense, but seriously? That’s the best you got, Jaguars? Your season is on the line and you can’t muster a win at home against the Redskins? Unreal. Washington went four-of-15 on third down and still won. Jacksonville committed seven penalties for 66 yards, had punts bounce off their own players and turned the ball over twice. The second interception couldn’t have come at a worse time, as David Garrard was picked off on the Jags’ first offensive possession in overtime. The interception put the Skins in field goal position and they eventually won when Graham Gano hit a 31-yarder. The Jags were able to rack up 336 yards on Washington’s miserable defense, but they reached the red zone just twice and failed to score once. Just a bad, bad day all the way around for the men in teal.

3. The Colts’ run defense steps up.
For the second week in a row, the Colts held a quality running team in check. Oakland managed just 80 yards on the ground and even though they made things interesting throughout, Indy was able to come away with a victory. They also managed to stave off disaster when Jacoby Ford returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The Colts couldn’t have asked for a worse start, but they settled in and Manning eventually started to pick the Raiders apart. The Colts even ran the ball for more than 150 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2006.

4. Jim Caldwell – the onsides kick killer.
Last week in Indy’s game against the Jaguars, Caldwell called a timeout right before a Jacksonville onsides kick attempt and Tyjuan Hagler wound up recovering the kick and returning it for a touchdown. On Sunday, Caldwell again called a timeout right before an onsides kick attempt and the Colts managed to recover the ball sans touchdown. Instead of icing kickers on field goal attempts, Caldwell has figured out a way to ice kickers on onside kick tries.

5. The Jaguars needed to have better offensive production.
Not to beat a dead horse, but how do the Jags only manage to score 17 points against a decimated Washington defense? Not having MJD really hurt, I get that. But Garrard’s two interceptions were killers and Josh Scobee missed two field goals that could have had a huge impact on the game. Garrard didn’t have a running game to work with and he did manage to complete 22-of-38 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown. But his two picks proved to be the difference in the game, as the Redskins turned his first interception into a touchdown and subsequently, a 10-0 lead. It’s just flabbergasting that a team with so much on the line could come up so short on the offensive side of the ball,

Here are six quick-hit observations of the Colts’ huge 34-24 win over the Jaguars on Sunday.

1. Colts are now in the driver’s seat.
Congratulations Jaguars, you just put Peyton Manning in control of the Colts’ playoff destiny. With their win on Sunday, Indy needs to win its final two games and the Colts will win thier 97th straight (numbers exact) AFC South crown. Not that beating Manning on his home turf was going to be easy, but the Jags had a golden opportunity to put the Colts away for good and couldn’t do it. Now it’s a footrace from here on out, as the Colts travel to Oakland in Week 16 and Jacksonville hosts the Redskins.

2. Seriously, Josh Scobee?
When I think of horrendous onsides kick attempts, I think of Josh Scobee’s feeble try late in the fourth quarter. After the Jaguars had stolen a lot of the momentum back with a touchdown to get within three at 27-24, Scobee dribbled a kick about five yards in front of himself and Tyjuan Hagler returned the gift 41 yards for a touchdown. Recovering an onsides kick is tough enough. It’s even tougher when your kicker rolls one right to a defender so he can return it for an easy touchdown.

3. Why is Sean Considine still in the league?
How Sean Considine still has a job after proving he couldn’t start all those years up in Philadelphia is beyond me. The Colts knew the Jaguars’ weakness was the play of their safeties and Manning attacked them early and often. Considine, specifically, had issues with both the run and the pass. The Colts, who usually struggle running the football, rushed for 155 yards against a Jacksonville run defense that had been stout. Donald Brown had a breakout performance, rushing for 129 yards on 14 carries and one score. Of course, he was aided by the fact that Considine’s head didn’t stop spinning from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

4. David Garrard continues to be inconsistent.
Garrard made a couple of nice throws on Sunday but too many of his passes sailed high. Marcedes Lewis made a great play to pull down one of those high passes for a touchdown in the third quarter but Garrard airmailed a pass over Jason Hill that was intercepted by Antonie Bethea in the second half. The interception proved costly because it not only stopped a potential scoring drive (the Jags were around midfield), but the Colts also turned the gift into three points. Good teams need their quarterback to step up in games like this and while Garrard did throw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, he needed to be better in the second half if the Jags were going to pull off a win. He wasn’t and they didn’t.

5. It’s too bad about Austin Collie.
Austin Collie is a gifted receiver and if he could only stay healthy, he could turn into one heck of a player in this league. He caught eight passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns, but Daryl Smith’s arm banged into his helmet in the first half and Collie had to leave the game with a concussion. It’s his second of the season and after he had just gotten back from his first, this has to be frustrating for the young receiver.

6. Will the Colts slip up?
The Colts play the Raiders and Titans to finish the season so while it’s not a foregone conclusion that they’ll win the AFC South, things are in their favor. That said, traveling cross-country is never easy and the Titans gave them a game in the second half a week ago in Tennessee. You know the Titans would love to play the role of spoiler, so the Colts’ work is far from over. That said, they’re in complete control of their destiny and two more wins will get them to the postseason, which seemed unlikely just two weeks ago.

Okay, so “seizing control” is a bit much. But following their easy 17-6 win over the Titans on Sunday, coupled with the Colts’ mind-blowing 38-35 loss to the Cowboys, the Jags have sole possession of first place in the division.

It would appear that Jacksonville is winning via smoke and mirrors, but that would be unfair. Their young defensive tackles Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu (remember him, draft experts?) are playing outstanding football, while the combination of Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings is working offensively. They’re wearing opponents like the Titans down in the second half and David Garrard (although not great by any stretch of the imagination) is making plays when he has to.

Their schedule down the stretch is also very winnable. They host the Raiders next Sunday before traveling to Indy the following week for their big matchup with the Colts. Then they host the Redskins and travel to Houston to play a highly inconsistent Texans team. The Jags could easily go 3-1 over the final month of the season.

It’s amazing to think that the same Jacksonville team that looked some hopeless and lost on Monday Night Football against Tennessee earlier this season is on path to make the playoffs. Staggering.

There’s only one man who should be calling a miracle Hail Mary touchdown at the end of a football game and that’s Gus Johnson.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYY HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT! UNBELIEVABLE! HE CAUGHT IT!”

Nobody will ever blame that man for not bringing enough emotion and enthusiasm to his job.

Houston cornerback Glover Quin did nothing wrong on the final play of the Texans-Jaguars game on Sunday. With the game tied 24-24 and overtime almost a certainty as the Jaguars lined at midfield, David Garrard heaved a desperation pass to the end zone with no time on the clock. Quin leapt high into the air and batted the ball back towards the field, just as defensive backs are taught to do.

The only problem is that he batted it right into the waiting arms of Jacksonville receiver Mike Thomas, who secured the 50-yard touchdown and an unbelievable 31-24 victory for the Jaguars.

Had Quin intercepted the pass, the game would have gone to overtime. But how many times are defensive backs scolded for not doing exactly what he did, which is bat the ball forward? The play was, by the very definition of the rule, a fluke. (Not to mention the play of the year.)

Perhaps even more unlikely than the touchdown is the fact that Jacksonville is now only one game behind Indianapolis in the AFC South. Pretty remarkable considering that this is the same Jaguars team that looked completely helpless against the Titans three weeks ago on Monday Night Football.

On the flip side, the loss drops Houston to 4-5 and into last place in the division. They’ve lost three in a row and coach Gary Kubiak has no answers on how to fix the worst defense in the NFL.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYY HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT! UNBELIEVABLE! HE CAUGHT IT!”

Thanks, Gus.

Down 14-3 with less than 20 seconds on the clock before halftime on Sunday, the Cowboys moved the ball to the Jaguars’ 1-yard line and faced a third-and-goal.

Punch the ball in and at 14-10, it’s a whole new game. Fail to convert and the misery that is the 2010 Cowboys’ season continues.

Naturally, the Cowboys settled for the latter.

On 3rd-and-1, Jon Kitna (who is only starting now because the Dallas’ O-line failed to pick up a blitzing Michael Boley last Monday night, which lead to Tony Romo being sidelined for the next 6-8 weeks) spun around and handed the ball off to Marion Barber, who was stuffed at the goal line. On 4th-and-1, Kitna ran into Barber at the exchange and once again, Barber was stuffed at the half-inch line.

Turnover on downs: Jacksonville football.

The two plays didn’t cost Dallas the game (a 35-17 Jaguar beatdown), but they personified what the 2010 season has become for the Cowboys. It’s not only that they fail to execute – they fail to execute because they mentally (and physically, apparently) get in their own way. They can’t block, they can’t tackle, they can’t run simple dive plays like the two Barber failed to score on. They’re just bad. They’re a bad football team.

Just because your starting quarterback is out, doesn’t mean you mail it in. Just because your starting quarterback is out, doesn’t mean you allow David Garrard to throw four touchdown passes and allow your opponent to treat your home field like it’s their own personal Mardi Gras celebration. It’s embarrassing. What the Cowboys did on Sunday was embarrassing.

But should anyone be surprised? This is what the season has come to for Dallas. Poor execution, dumb mistakes and ugly losses. But at this point, it is what it is. Wade Phillips isn’t going anywhere at the moment and Jerry Jones will just have to ride out the rest of the season before he can make wholesale changes.

Too bad he has to watch this monstrosity for another nine weeks.

Both starting quarterbacks in the Monday Night Football game were injured in the first half. Vince Young sprained his knee early in the first quarter, while David Garrard took a hit from a Tennessee pass rusher in the second quarter and went into the locker room just before half. (His injury is unknown at this point, but don’t rule out the possibility that he took himself out because he’s God awful.)

The good thing for Tennessee is that Kerry Collins is Young’s backup. He hit Bo Scaife on a 2-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter and then orchestrated another scoring drive that netted the Titans a field goal. Tennessee currently lead 17-0 at half.

Unfortunately for Jacksonville, their backup is not Kerry Collins but Trent Edwards, who was signed three weeks ago after Buffalo dumped him following two brutal starts at the beginning of the season. He came in and took the Jaguars right down the field, but then Mercedes Lewis crapped on the drive by fumbling inside the red zone. Tennessee recovered the loose ball and held Jacksonville scoreless in the first half.

Edwards looked great on his lone drive, but soon enough he’ll remember he’s Trent Edwards and start checking down every chance he gets. Of course, he’s probably a better option than Garrard at this point, so even if Garrard is healthy to start the second half, Jack Del Rio might as well leave Edwards in.

Update: ESPN will think twice about putting the Jaguars on Monday Night Football again after their performance tonight. Thanks to Collins and a dominating performance by their defense, the Titans rolled Jacksonville, 30-3. Maurice Jones-Drew never got going for the Jags and Edwards was picked off on the first possession of the second half.

Reports say that Garrard suffered a concussion in the first half, which is why he never returned.