Jaguars vs Ravens Re-Cap

JT: I am still so amped from this win

We can throw statistics around all day long. I can cut and paste from ESPN until I am blue in the face but it won’t matter. The point of this particular win is that it marks the turning point for this Jacksonville Jaguars team. This is the signature win that was needed to define who this team is going forward. Yes, a few players will change this offseason, but the core around which this team is built will return and they will remember this win. They will remember the trust the entire team had in Trevor Lawrence to drive the length of the field, with no timeouts, for a perfect game winning TD toss to Marvin Jones Jr., in the corner of the end zone, with seconds left on the clock. They will also remember the trust Doug Pederson showed by keeping his offense on the field, throwing overtime to the wind, and living or dying by a two-point conversion attempt. This game was a long time coming and will fuel the Jacksonville Jaguars for years. It was a culture changer. Head Coach Doug Pederson said it best when addressing the team in the locker room, after the win. “This is a team win today. Offense, defense, and special teams. And it’s a hell of a win against a great football team. A playoff caliber team. That shows me, shows you right there, that we’re right there. And we are right there with ‘em.” Now, while we are all rightfully fired up, we need to take this in stride. JAX won’t win the rest of their games this season. Feel free to prove me wrong Jags. I triple dog dare you. The coup de grace of all dares. Schwartz and I care little for dare etiquette (I love when I can so effortlessly drop in a timely and seasonal classic movie quote). This win represents the hump over which they needed to climb in order to take the next step… being a playoff contender. 

Can we talk about Zay Jones? My man had himself a game. November 27, 2022 is officially Zay Day in Jacksonville. I don’t want to brag (of course I do) but I was smart enough to start Zay Jones in my FanDuel league this week. He scored the most points on my team and I will be bringing home the trophy because #7. Jones had a career game with 145 receiving yards on 11 receptions including the most important, a 2-point conversion to win the game. When interviewed after the game Zay explained how that two-pointer went down. “It was a play that we practiced since OTAs really.” Trevor Lawrence asked Zay Jones if he liked the play. Zay looked at him and said, “Yeah, I like it. Let's do it.” T-Law said “Alright, I’m coming to you.” Zay said, “I respected that. It shows a lot of trust and faith that he has in me. I’m just so grateful to come out, you know, with the catch for these guys. That’s the greatest feeling for me is knowing that I get to see the faces. That I helped my team. I helped my guys. That’s what players play for, the guys in the locker room, the coaching staff.” I mean come on? Is Zay Jones not the kind of man you want your daughter to marry? She’s currently in college Zay, but I’m okay with the age difference. He eloquently verbalized exactly why this win is the turning point for this team. These Jags play for each other. No matter what Kobe once famously said, there is no “M,E” in this team.

Let’s chat about the Jags defense. They certainly defined the bend don’t break attitude on this fine afternoon, until they broke at the most inopportune time. For almost the entire game the defense bent like a sapling in a hurricane, giving up large chunk plays, especially to the Ravens passing game. But when it came time to dig their heels in, they buttoned it up in the red zone. JAX turned the Baltimore red zone offense into the Justin Tucker show, making him earn his paycheck on this given Sunday. Whomever had Tuck on their fantasy team was dancing a jig. You can not, however, expect to hold such a good playoff caliber team down for the entire game. Jacksonville’s bend don’t break finally snapped when the Ravens completely fooled all the JAX linebackers. Lamar dropped back and hit a wide open Josh Oliver for a walk in touchdown, completely untouched until he and Cisco introduced themselves just over the goal line. Josh Oliver hit his man off the line and then released, dragging across the field in front of the linebackers. In high school we called that play the “Y delay,” and never once did it fool Virginia division six high school defenses as badly as it did the Jacksonville linebackers today. I am not positive, because frankly all of the Jags linebackers looked completely out of place and confused on this play, but I think this was #33, Devin Lloyd’s man. I have faith that Lloyd will make the necessary improvements to thrive in this league. He is too talented not to, but he certainly needs a little more time than originally thought. This touchdown broke my spirit and the spirits of many Jags fans who now wish they didn’t head for the exits after this Baltimore score. Other than on that drive, I was decently happy with the Jaguars defense. I think they had a very challenging job against the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. There isn’t a QB I would rather NOT face in the NFL right now, save maybe Jalen Hurts. But Hurts, and those with the ability to run (Fields and Jones etc…) don’t have the quickness that I feel Jackson possesses. He is scary good when a play breaks down and Jacksonville did an excellent job containing Lamar’s running ability for the entire game. There were definite times when Jackson took off and I watched Oluokun spy him successfully. Yes, Jackson would still gain yardage, but when all is said and done I think defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell called a good game. 

I can’t end the defensive section without mentioning two things. The first is Andrew “Dewey” Wingard had himself a hell of a time. A forced fumble by #42 recovered by Tyson Campbell was a fantastic play. But my man’s energy is infectious. Every time I saw Dewey he was dancing to the stadium music, pumping up the crowd, or getting his teammates fired up. The guy was on fire today against Baltimore. Frankly, like canned cranberry and Mac & Cheese on Thanksgiving, we can never get enough Dewey Wingard. The second shout out goes to Foye Oluokun who came close to breaking the franchise record for tackles today with 18 total, 13 solo and 2 for a loss. Beast mode. Oluokun was a tremendous addition to this team. I think Baalke deserves a lot of credit for this offseason acquisition. He is as football intelligent as he is physical. A tackling machine. He was so good that the next highest tackler was rookie Chad Muma, who in his first start of the season had 9 total tackles. 

The special teams had some great punt coverage plays, pinning the Ravens close to their goal line (the fact that Baltimore immediately gained chunk yardage to get out of the shadow of their endzone is the fault of the Jags defense. See “bend don’t break” above.). But really the brightest spot on the Jacksonville special teams was the execution of a single offensive play by special teams player extraordinaire, Jamal Agnew. Down by the Ravens goal line Doug Pederson called a pass play that required the most precise timing (by several players) in order to pull off successfully. This was a beautiful play call, and a perfectly executed touchdown pass. Agnew, in motion, had to make a sharp 180 cut back turned all out sprint. Right after Agnew made his 180, Fortner had to immediately snap the ball. Agnew only had a single step on his trailing defender which meant that the window T-Law had for his throw was miniscule. He could not throw it behind Agnew, not even slightly. He had to hit him perfectly in stride. The play was truly fun to watch and analyze, especially live, as it unfolded. To top off the special teams accolades, punter Logan Cooke averaged 68.7 yards with a long of 70 today. That’s insane. It might not be a good look to have an all-pro punter but I’ll certainly take those numbers all day long. Lastly, place kicker Patterson rebounded nicely from his pre-bye performance with a two for two outing against the Ravens. 

I, of course, was saving the best for last. Like the leftover Thanksgiving, turkey, stuffing, cranberry and gravy sandwich that is sitting like a rock in my stomach as I type this column, Trevor Lawrence had the day. The day that we’ve all been waiting for. The day for which Doug Pederson was telling us all to be patient. Today, Trevor Lawrence turned the corner. It was his coming out party and folks, he did it in unparalleled fashion (too much? Shut-up and let us have our moment.). T-Law was dropping dimes all over the field and in all situations. Please remember, and don’t ever forget, that ETN was riding pine with an injured foot for almost the entirety of the game today. The Jaguars had a total of 38 rushing yards all day. Fewer than the number on Jamal Agnew’s jersey. Lawrence was holding a clinic. Trevor Verlander was painting corners and throwing strikes all game long. He perfectly dropped two passes, over coverage, into the arms of Zay Jones and Marvin Jones Jr. during the game winning drive. Not enough for ya? Well he followed that up with a literal bullet, fired out of a literal howitzer, to Zay Jones for the game winning, start the victory celebration, 2pt. conversion. Today, against the Baltimore Ravens, Trevor Lawrence became the first ever Jacksonville Jaguar QB to amass 300 yards passing, 3 pass TDs, 75%+ completion rate, and all with no INTs. Thank you to the NFL on CBS’s Twitter feed for that little nugget of awesomeness.

Folks, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The remaining Jaguars schedule is a difficult one. The Jags play the division leading Titans twice, the Jets (who with Mike White behind center look to be Super Bowl bound), Dak and the Cowboys, The one-win (against the Jags) Texans, and the “all offense all the time” Detroit Lions. This ain’t gonna be easy, but it is gonna be fun now that the Jags have tasted the sweet sweet nectar that is battling and beating a Lamar Jackson led playoff caliber Ravens team. Once you squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube there is no putting it back and T-Law has himself some pearly whites, my friends. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.