Article by Dan Tortora
Following a 25-minute delay caused by inclement weather, the Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off their 23rd meeting with the Baltimore Ravens, hosting them here in the "Sunshine State".
Jacksonville leads the all-time series 12-10-0, winning the first eight games of the head-to-head contests.
The last time these two franchises met was back on December 20, 2020, a 40-14 win for the Ravens at home.
At home, the Jaguars are 7-3 against the Ravens historically, winning their first-ever game against them, 30-27, which was at home on November 10, 1996.
The first play of the game was a completion from quarterback Lamar Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews for a first down and then some, on a 25-yard gain.
Shortly after, wide receiver Devin Duvernay would carry the ball for nine yards on 3rd-&-2 to gain a new set of downs to the Jacksonville 33-yard line.
Jackson would go back to Andrews and the original ruling was that linebacker Foyesade Oluokun forced Andrews to fumble and strong safety Rayshawn Jenkins recovered the ball, but an official review would overturn the ball, ruling that Jenkins had part of his body out-of-bounds when he touched the ball, meaning that the fumble was out-of-bounds, resulting in the Ravens keeping possession.
Jacksonville would pressure Jackson on 3rd-&-10 from their 10-yard line and his pass would fall flat, bringing kicker Justin Tucker onto the field for a 27-yard boot to take a 3-0 lead at the 9:23 mark of the first quarter.
On the Jaguars' first possession of the match-up, running back JaMycal Hasty would carry it forward on 3rd-&-1 for no gain. Head Coach Doug Pederson would elect to go for it on 4th-&-1 and quarterback Trevor Lawrence would keep it, rushing forward also for no gain, resulting in a turnover on downs by the Jaguars at midfield with 6:01 remaining on the first-quarter clock.
Two times in two drives, Baltimore got into the Jacksonville redzone and ended with a field goal, this time from 29 yards out for Tucker's seocnd make of the game, moving Baltimore out to a 6-0 lead at the 2:03 mark.
The Jaguars would punt the ball away on their second drive, leaving them with no points in the firsrt 15 minutes of play.
At the end of the first quarter, Jaguars' running back Travis Etienne, Jr., was said to be questionable to return due to a foot injury, after carrying the ball two times for three yards in the opening quarter.
Pederson would challenged a five-yard pass play from Jackson to Duvernay and lose a timeout as the ruling of a catch was upheld, keeping Baltimore on their own 46 on 2nd-&-5.
The Ravens elected to go for it on fourth down on this their third drive of the game. Jackson would keep it, trying to outstretch his arm for the first down and nose tackle DaVon Hamilton would thwart Jackson's plan, forcing Jackson to fumble and recovering the ball at midfield.
On the Jaguars' third possession of the game, they achieved two first downs on four plays, with the fourth play being a pass from Lawrence to Hasty on the right side that Hasty took forward for a 28-yard score, the first touchdown of the game by either team, and first points for the Jaguars. The play resulted in Jacksonville's first lead of the contest, 7-6, with 9:57 to go before the break. This was Hasty's first receiving touchdown ever as a Jaguar and first in his three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). This score was his second on the Jacksonville squad, with the first coming in a 34-27 loss on the road to AFC South rvial Indianapolis Colts on October 16, 2022.
Defensively, Oluokun had reached double-digit tackles with more than half of the second quarter left to play, with 10 (7 solo, 3 assisted).
Baltimore would regain the lead, 9-7, on 4th-&-10 on their fourth drive of the match-up off of a 55-yard strike off the foot of Tucker with 4:51 left on the first-half clock.
Jacksonville would gain their first third-down conversion on their fourth drive of the half, after starting the game 0-for-2 on third down, when Hasty was found by Lawrence wide open on the left side of the field for a 24-yard gain to Baltimore's six-yard line.
Lawrence would overthrow wide receiver Christian Kirk, though, on 3rd-&-4 from the Ravens' four-yard line and the Jaguars would regain the lead on a field goal by kicker Riley Patterson from 22 yards away, going ahead 10-9 with nine seconds before half, a lead they would take into the locker room, knowing they would receive the ball to start the second half.
At the break, Lawrence was 10-for-12 for 135 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. while Jackson was 9-for-17 for 88 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and the aforementioned fumble.
Gus Edwards led all ball-carriers on either side, with 39 yards on nine carries (4.3 yards per carry). Jackson was close behind with 37 yards on seven carries (5.3 yards per carry).
Hasty was atop all Jaguars with 21 yards on eight carries (2.6 yards per carry).
Jacksonville wide receiver Zay Jones would lead all players on either team with 66 receiving yards at the half, also leading in catches with six. Hasty followed with 52 yards on two catches, one being for his 28-yard touchdown.
Andrews led the Ravens with 33 yards on three catches.
Oluokun had the most total tackles in the first half with 13 (nine solo and four assisted), followed by strong safety Chuck Clar of Baltimore who had six (three solo and three assisted).
The Jaguars would open the half with a punt, followed by their defense preventing a touchdown in their redzone once again. Three times the Ravens had been in the Jaguars' redzone by this time in the game, and three times they came away with field goals. Tucker's 24-yarder in the third quarter gave Baltimore a 12-10 lead at the 7:51 mark.
Jacksonville would follow by punting away their second three-and-out of the third quarter.
Baltimore would punt their second possession of the third quarter back to Jacksonville despite amounting four first downs on this possession, with 2:44 remaining on the quarter clock.
During their third drive of the second half, on 3rd-&-9, the Jaguars lost possession when Lawrence fumbled courtesy of linebacker Tyus Bowser and recovered by cornerback Marcus Peters to start the Ravens' third possession of the second half at the Jaguars' 25.
Baltimore would take this drive from the end of the third into the beginning of the final quarter.
Jackson would take this drive into the end zone, but hold that thought.
After review, Jackson was marked down short of the goal-line, setting up 1st-&-1 from the Jaguars' one-yard line.
Two plays later, Edwards would stay upright despite colliding with the Jacksonville brass and get the lone yard needed to score the first touchdown of the day in the redzone, and first touchdown overall for Baltimore, inside this match-up, extending their lead to 19-10 with 13:07 to go in the game.
The Jaguars fourth possession of the second half would end in the end-zone when Lawrence threw a quick out to wide receiver Jamal Agnew for a one-yard touchdown on the right side of the end zone to bring the Jaguars' deficit to two, 19-17, with 5:55 remaining in the match-up. This drive began with Lawrence getting sacked for a loss of five yards.
Lawrence and Zay Jones would keep the drive alive with a 27-yard link-up on 4th-&-8. Overall, Jacksonville would achieve four first downs on a 14-play drive that would go 75 yards to paydirt.
On the very first play of the next Baltimore drive, Edwards would fumble on a carry up the middle, created by strong safety Andrew Wingard and recovered by cornerback Tyson Campbell at the Baltimore 16-yard line. The Jaguars would come away with a field goal, 29 yards for Patterson's second make of the day in as many tries, to regain the lead, 20-19, with 4:19 left.
The Ravens responded with a 75-yard drive of their own, this in only six plays, the last being a pass from Jackson to former Jaguars' draftee tight end Josh Oliver wide open on the left side, taking it in for a 12-yard score.
Baltimore Head Coach John Harbaugh elected to go for two to be up by a touchdown and his risk would be rewarded when Jackson found Andrews who muscled in for the conversion, elevating Baltimore up to a 27-20 lead with 2:02 to play.
Another former Jaguar came up big late, with defensive end Calais Campbell sacking Lawrence for a loss of 11 yards and forcing him to fumble, setting up 3rd-&-21 from the Jaguars' 14-yard line.
But Lawrence and the Jaguars would claw their way forward, finding wide receiver Christian Kirk for 16 yards and then wide receiver Marvin Jones, Jr., on 4th-&-5 for a 10-yard gain and a new set of downs.
On the following third down, 3rd-&-6, Lawrence aired out to Zay Jones 29 yards to the Ravens' 10-yard line.
Instead of spiking, Lawrence went to Marvin Jones, Jr., in single-coverage on the right side of the end zone. The call on the field was a touchdown. After review, the call was upheld, bringing the score to 27-26 Ravens.
Pederson elected to go for a two-point conversion for the win instead of the tie and Lawrence converted to Zay Jones to take a 28-27 lead with 14 seconds remaining.
With two seconds left, Tucker tried from 67 yards away and the ball would fall short.
Jacksonville wins their 23rd meeting versus Baltimore, improving to 13-10-0 overall in head-to-head play.
They are now 8-3 against the Ravens in Jacksonville, Florida.
With the win, the Jaguars rise to 4-7 overall and are now .500 at home, at 3-3.
The Ravens are now 7-4 overall and 4-2 on the road.
Lawrence finished 29-for-37 for 321 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while Jackson concludes the contest 16-for-32 for 254 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
Jackson led both teams in rushing yards with 89 yards on 14 carries (6.4 yards per carry).
Zay Jones ended the game atop everyone in receiving yards (145) and catches (11).
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