HANGING ON, HANGING IN

The Jaguars stayed true to form in continuing their pattern of following blowout defeats with wins against bad teams. They fought off a late Kansas City rally and topped the Chiefs 24-21 on Sunday to improve to .500 at the halfway point of the season. "We didn't quite finish the way we wanted," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "But we will take that 'W'." In doing so, the Jags responded to most of the criticisms about the team's weak spots. - They pressured the quarterback (three sacks). - They made timely tackles (Chiefs leading rusher Jamaal Charles finished with just 36 yards). - They pass-protected and defended against the pass fairly well (gave up only one sack, and limited Kansas City to 127 yards passing until its last two drives). But let's not forget the pertinent facts: They played the bumbling Chiefs (1-7) and their last three victories were against teams with a combined 3-20 record going into Sunday's games. Del Rio said the manner in which the Jags won isn't as important as the victory itself. So to reach the halfway point of the season at 4-4, the Jaguars find themselves in better position than most anticipated. Del Rio said it's now time for the Jaguars to kick it into high gear. "It's time for us to surge. We need that," he said. "We've got a lot of work to do. I believe as we go through the course of this year, we should continue to improve. To be here at 4-4, we're still alive. We still have everything in front of us." Leading by 18 points with less than five minutes remaining, Jacksonville nearly squandered a six-catch, 147-yard receiving performance from Mike Sims-Walker, and an efficient day from David Garrard, who finished with 264 yards and a 110.7 passer rating. "Stuff like that happens," said defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison. "There's no such thing as an ugly victory. Fortunately we got the win. It'll be ugly tomorrow, but today I'll take the win." The Jaguars took a 24-6 lead on Maurice Jones-Drew's 10-yard run with 4:26 left. But the Chiefs scored two touchdowns in less than 1:30 to make it a one-score game with 1:10 left. Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel hit a wide-open Chris Chambers for a 54-yard touchdown for the first score in the Chiefs' rally. Ryan Succop bounced the ensuing onside kick off Ellison's right hip, and recovered it at the Kansas City 32. Cassel moved the Chiefs 63 yards in seven plays, then found Chambers again for a 5-yard TD with 1:10 remaining. Cassel hit Charles with a two-point conversion, and suddenly it was a three-point game. "When their back is against the wall, they have shown the propensity to make some plays," Chiefs coach Todd Haley said of his team. But Greg Jones recovered Succop's second onside kick attempt, and the Jaguars ran out the clock. "We still have some great spots and we have some sore spots we have to fix up," Jones-Drew said. "It's kind of a process. As long as we keep working at it and improve, we'll be alright." Jones-Drew keyed the ground game with 97 yards on 29 attempts. The club also received a strong contribution from rookie backup Rashad Jennings, who scored on a 28-yard burst off tackle to give the Jags a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. Sims-Walker extended the Jaguars' lead by taking advantage of a Kansas City coverage bust for a 61-yard touchdown with a 1:02 left before intermission. Josh Scobee added a 27-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 17-6. "It was a big day for the offense," said Sims-Walker, whose 147 yards were the most by a Jags receiver since Jimmy Smith's 147-yard day against Arizona in 2000. "Every man just tried to find a hole in that zone and whoever [Garrard] threw the ball to just made the play. It just so happened that was me today." Defensively, the Jags switched from their 3-4 alignment back to the 4-3 front that Del Rio has utilized through virtually all of his tenure in Jacksonville. The unit gave up 301 yards against a Kansas City offense ranked 30th entering the game. Daryl Smith led the defense with 1 1/2 sacks, followed by John Henderson, who also notched a sack. Rookie Terrance Knighton was credited with a half sack. "We wanted to get a lot of pressure," Henderson said. "We didn't get as many sacks as we wanted, but we got a lot of pressure on them." The Jaguars complete a string of three consecutive games against teams coming off their bye week next week at the New York Jets (4-4). The players know that erratic, up-and-down performances need to stop for the team to reach its postseason goals. "I want to be on that rollercoaster,'' Garrard said. "I just want to be on it as it is ascending." michael.wright@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4657 Big change on defense: The Jaguars used a 3-4 defensive alignment most of the season. On Sunday, they switched to a 4-3. C-5 Late drama: The Chiefs recovered one onside kick, but Greg Jones caught the second. C-6 INTERACT Watch Gene Frenette and Vito Stellino's postgame video, and view a complete photo gallery of the game. ultimatejaguars.com