Run the football. It?s that simple in the NFL in December.

Inside or outside, running the football changes the game for the team that can do it effectively.

Right now, the Jaguars are that team.

For the fifth consecutive game, Maurice Jones Drew ran for more than 100 yards. In fact, his 186 yards Sunday was a career high. Add Rashad Jennings? 44 and the Jaguars gained 258 yards on the ground -- the second highest in franchise history.

It?s the formula for winning anytime of year, but especially when every game feels like a playoff game, every possession makes a difference. The Jaguars are playing the right kind of football at the right time. Run the football and play defense.

At 7-5 they?re leading the division no matter what anybody else does. It gives them confidence with four games remaining, two at home, two on the road. Next week they?re at home against the Raiders, an up and down team also in the playoff race. Their other home game is against the fading Redskins. Then two road games are in the division, at Indy and finishing the season at the Texans.

Slideshow:Jaguars Run Over Titans

Win three of those games, and they?re in the playoffs as the AFC South division champions. And that?s the only way they?ll get in. The wild card teams are going to come out of the AFC East and Central. The good thing about winning the division is getting a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

But we?re getting a little ahead of ourselves. The Jaguars just need to take care of themselves. Their win over the Titans is the formula they need to continue on this road. And they have the players to do it.

Last week against the Giants, nobody can figure out why the Jaguars got away from their game plan from the first half where they were running the football consistently and controlling the clock. They did that against the Titans and kept doing it.

Playing that kind of football is how the Jaguars are built. They?re a run-first team with MJD and Jennings. Garrard is most effective when teams have to worry about him running the football.

Yes, he?s been efficient as a passer in recent weeks, but he?s best when he?s asked to be the compliment to everything else their doing. Namely, run the football.