The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled a rabbit out of a hat Sunday when they drove 86 yards in a minute and 37 seconds against the Baltimore Ravens to score a touchdown and a game-winning two-point conversion.
The Jaguars were out-gained by the Ravens, committed more penalties, and Baltimore won the time of possession battle by more than five minutes. But the Ravens squandered multiple chances at touchdowns in the red zone, and the Jaguars capitalized on their opponents’ mistakes.
It was the opposite story of several games Jacksonville has played in 2022, as the team has had a tendency to outplay opponents but snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Here’s who stood out most for the Jaguars in the winning performance, and which players could’ve had a better showing Sunday:
Stud - QB Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence was the story of the game Sunday, as he broke a franchise record with his 129.8 passer rating, the highest mark in Jaguars history for a quarterback with that many pass attempts in a game.
The pinnacle of his performance was a stellar fourth quarter that saw Lawrence slinging laser beams all over the field and leading the Jaguars to 18 points in the last six minutes of the game.
Trevor Lawrence in the 4th quarter today against the Ravens.
lmao. lmfao. pic.twitter.com/BKCwmOe90u
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 28, 2022
After Sunday, Lawrence leads the NFL in completion percentage in the month of November and is second in passer rating.
Continuing to stack positive performances and avoiding the inconsistencies that plagued Lawrence in October will be the key for the team moving forward. But it’s hard not to be bullish on the Jaguars’ future with Lawrence’s ascension on full display.
Stud - WR Zay Jones
It was pretty easy to forget about the addition of Zay Jones in the offseason with so much attention surrounding the signing of Christian Kirk. But 11 games into the 2022 season, Jones has proven to be an incredibly valuable piece of the puzzle.
After his massive day against the Ravens, Jones has a team-leading 58 receptions for 562 yards and a touchdown.
When Trevor Lawrence needs someone to move the chains, Zay Jones often feels like the safest choice. In the fourth quarter, Lawrence targeted Jones eight times and connected with him five times for 79 yards.
And that doesn’t even include his clutch two-point conversion grab that gave the Jaguars their one-point lead.
Dud - C Luke Fortner
The Jaguars offensive line did pretty well against the Ravens’ front with the exception of the team’s rookie center.
Of the six pressures generated by the Baltimore pass rush, four came against Fortner, according to Pro Football Focus.
That included the Ravens’ Broderick Washington casually pushing Fortner aside on his way to a sack on the Jaguars’ first offensive play of the game.
Fortner had a rough start to his NFL career after getting thrown into the fire in Week 1, but he eventually settled in and had a strong stretch of play before his rough day against Baltimore.
Stud - RB JaMycal Hasty
Things did not look good for the Jaguars at the end of the first quarter. Two offensive possessions resulted in two punts, the Ravens offense was finding success even if it wasn’t scoring touchdowns, and star running back Travis Etienne Jr. went to the locker room with a foot injury.
Jacksonville was forced to turn to Hasty, who has been largely ineffective since the trade that sent James Robinson to the New York Jets.
Fortunately for the Jaguars, Hasty was effective enough Sunday. He finished second on the team in receiving yards with 67, including a 28-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter that gave the Jaguars a 7-6 lead.
Hasty’s 28 rushing yards on 12 attempts weren’t much and Jacksonville will still benefit from the addition of Darrell Henderson to the lineup, but it was a strong showing from Hasty who had a career-best 95 yards from scrimmage.
Dud - Jaguars pass rush
Lamar Jackson is about as slippery as they come, but finishing with only one sack — a one-yard loss on a scramble attempt that was thwarted by DaVon Hamilton — isn’t good enough from the Jaguars pass rush.
It’s not as though Jackson can’t be sacked. In the Ravens’ first 10 games of the season, he was sacked 23 times and three times each in the four games prior to Week 12.
The Jacksonville defense had a chance to put the game on ice when the Ravens were stuck with a second-and-20 on their own 15-yard line with four minutes left in the game. Instead, Jackson dropped back and calmly stood in a clean pocket while he waited for DeSean Jackson to break open 60 yards down the field.
Josh Allen is now at seven straight games without a sack and Travon Walker still has only 2.5 on the year.
