(My Sportsbook) - A win is a win. That's the way the Jaguars have to look at Sunday's 10-9 victory over the lowly San Francisco 49ers.

It surely wasn't pretty, but style points don't count in the NFL. Maybe in the minds of reporters, but certainly not from the standpoint of the coach or players -- particularly those on the winning side.

"I told the team you don't have to apologize for winning," said Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio following Sunday's game.

Most of the players felt the same way.

"Ugly game," Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson remarked. "We just found a way to win. It won't be pretty in the stat books, but we found a way to win."

Added quarterback David Garrard, "It was a win and it was ugly. There are a lot of ugly wins in the NFL. I am not down at all. You can never be down after a win."

Nor should they be, really. The triumph left the Jaguars with 10 wins and also pushed them to the brink of clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 1999. One win in the next two games will do just that.

NOT A PERFECT 10, BUT GOOD ENOUGH

The Jaguars have reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since 1999, when they finished 14-2 and went all the way to the AFC Championship Game, losing to Tennessee.

Getting to 10 wins is an accomplishment that Del Rio is very proud of.

"Four teams in the NFL have better records than us, and we've beaten two of them [Seattle and Cincinnati]. I think that's pretty good," Del Rio said on Monday. "There are three other teams that, like us, have 10 wins. All three are leading their divisions -- Carolina, the New York Giants and Chicago. They are in a frenzy over their 10 wins.

"The 10 wins we've earned feel a little different. I think, part of that is because Indianapolis has been so hot and they've kind of run away with our division."

There are some who believe the Jaguars' 10 wins are somewhat tainted because of the schedule they've played recently. Jacksonville has won six of its last seven games, losing only to Indianapolis, and the victories have all come against teams with losing records.

However, the early part of the schedule was tough. The Jaguars were just 4-3 through their first seven games, but five of those contests came against eventual division winners or playoff contenders. They were 3-2 in those five outings -- beating Seattle, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh while losing to the Colts and Denver.

PLAYING TO THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION

One complaint about the Jaguars is their penchant for playing down to, or up to, the level of their competition. Since the team's bye week of October 23, the Jaguars are 6-2.

In the six victories, all against teams with losing records, the Jaguars have blown only one team out -- a 30-3 win versus Baltimore. The other five wins have all been by seven points or less, and the team has not scored more than 24 points in any of its last four outings.

"We'd like to score more points," said Del Rio on Monday. "That's an area, as we finish the regular season, we'd like to find our stride and be more productive."

Some of the troubles can be attributed to injuries, and the Jaguars have done a great job of playing through them. They lost safety Donovin Darius early in the season and have been playing without quarterback Byron Leftwich for a couple of weeks, while center Brad Meester was lost for the season earlier this month and running back Fred Taylor has battled nagging injuries all season long.

"When you lose your starting quarterback, lose your starting center and your starting halfback is out for awhile, that's going to cause a team to potentially have some setbacks," Del Rio said Monday. "I feel good about the fact that our team has been able to plug in [center] Dennis Norman and [quarterback] David Garrard and keep playing.

"I like the competitive spirit this football team has. We have not been afraid to play a bunch of young players. There are a lot of areas we feel we can grow as a football team."

They'll have two weeks to do so in preparation for a likely playoff berth.

UP NEXT

After playing a two-win team in San Francisco, the Jaguars will try to do better against another club with just two wins -- the Houston Texans, a team that has given them fits recently.

Jacksonville's run of five straight wins -- before the Indianapolis game last week -- started with a 21-14 victory over the Texans on November 6. The Jags trailed, 14-7, but scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull that game out.

Last year, Houston swept the Jaguars and helped ruin Jacksonville's playoff plans with a 21-0 victory in the 15th game of the season. A victory in that contest would likely have propelled the Jaguars into the post-season. Del Rio will likely make sure his team remembers what happened last December 26 and a victory this week will instead make for a nice Christmas present.