After Trevor Lawrence suffered a minor sprain in week six and was listed as a game-time decision, he came out with vengeance and led the Jaguars to a 31-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints in a Thursday night primetime matchup.
Jacksonville came out of the gates asserting their dominance early on by scoring two touchdowns on their first three drives, going up 14-3.
The Jaguars’ opening drive was a 10-play, 75-yard drive that featured passes to Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, Jamal Agnew, and even a nine-yard scramble by Trevor Lawrence on a compromised knee. A drive that chewed up over five minutes on the clock, Jacksonville finished it off with a two-yard run by Travis Etienne to get into the endzone.
The New Orleans offense started with an 11-play drive that had them moving down the field, but it ultimately resulted in zero points as Blake Grupe missed a 51-yard field goal attempt. The Saints caught a break because on the very next play, they recovered a fumble by Christian Kirk on a 19-yard reception.
New Orleans caught yet another break as they recovered a muffed punt after going three-and-out. Tevaughn Campbell got pushed into Jamal Agnew on the return. The ball was recovered by the Saints at Jacksonville’s 17-yard line. The Jaguars’ defense held up well as they were backed up and made the Saints have to settle for three points.
Jacksonville finished off the first half strong as they put together another touchdown drive that was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne to get him his second score of the evening. The Jaguars would put together one more 10-play drive that resulted in a 43-yard field goal and Jacksonville would go into the halftime locker room up 17-6.
A majority of the second half belonged to the Saints as they outscored the Jaguars 18-14, forced the Jaguars to punt on three of their first four drives of the second half, and New Orleans would ultimately tie the game up.
New Orleans started the third quarter with an 11-play drive that led to a field goal, cutting the lead to 17-9. Derek Carr would have a critical mistake on their next offensive possession as his pass was popped up into the air, intercepted by Foye Oluokun, and taken back for a pick-six, extending the Jaguars lead to 24-9.
A sense of urgency was brought upon the Saints, and their offense bounced back in a big way. Derek Carr led a 75-yard touchdown drive that featured two fourth-down conversions, and it was finished off with a one-yard touchdown run by Taysom Hill, cutting the lead to 24-16.
Two offensive possessions later, New Orleans tied the game up with a 17-yard score to Micahel Thomas and the score was 24-24 with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After back-to-back punts by both teams on their ensuing possessions, Jacksonville took the lead 31-24, and they never looked back. Trevor Lawrence saw Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu lined up on Christian Kirk in the slot and took advantage of that matchup. Trevor hit Kirk over the middle of the field, and he did the rest of the work running it in for a 44-yard score.
New Orleans had 3:08 to go down the field and attempt to either tie or win the game, but they ultimately fell short. On third and goal, Derek Carr passed it to a wide-open Foster Moreau in the corner of the endzone and it fell right through his fingertips. On the Saints’ last play, Derek Carr threw a poor pass to Chris Olave on a fade route, as Montaric “Buster” Brown batted the ball down, sealing the win for the Jaguars.
For Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence completed 20-of-29 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown, and an impressive 84.1 quarterback rating (QBR). Despite Lawrence having the knee brace on, he led the Jaguars in rushing with eight carries for 59 yards including the longest rush of the evening for 26 yards.
Travis Etienne rushed 14 times for 53 yards, had three receptions for 24 yards, and has now scored two touchdowns in three consecutive games. Christian Kirk led all Jaguars wideouts with six catches for 90 yards and had the game-winning 44-yard touchdown score.
Defensively, the two-headed monster of Devin Lloyd and Foye Oloukun led the team with 25 combined tackles and three passes deflected. The secondary for the Jaguars was great all evening as Darious Willams, Montaric Brown, and Tre Herndon each had two pass deflections. Lastly, Josh Allen put together another strong performance as he had 10 pressures and a 36.8% pass rush win rate (per PFF).
Jacksonville is now 5-2 for the first time since 2007, they have won four games in the last 19 days, and are in full control of the AFC South. Jacksonville will have 10 days to rest and prepare for their next matchup on the road vs the Pittsburgh Steelers.