If you simply assumed the first-place Jacksonville Jaguars would remain on cruise control and treat the Baltimore Ravens and their third-string rookie quarterback like the most minor speed bump to kick off Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season – well, yep, nailed it.
The AFC South-leading Jags barely broke a sweat on a wet Baltimore night, spanking the Ravens and fill-in QB Joe Fagnano 33-10
on the Nov. 5 edition of “Thursday Night Football.”It was not the kind of matchup that was especially revelatory on any front, but let’s do our best to identify winners and losers beyond two teams decidedly trending in opposite directions:
WINNERS
Jaguars' playoff aspirations
After winning its division with a 13-4 record last year, Jacksonville seems on a very similar course in 2026 – especially so given
the Jags are armed with the league’s easiest remaining schedule and unlikely to face a challenge from any of their disintegrating AFC South foes down the stretch. Stay relatively healthy the rest of the way – maybe even add a body or two ahead of the trade deadline – and this could very well be a No. 1 playoff seed.
Jake Moody
Kicking for his fourth NFL team in four seasons, the 2023 third-round pick (by the San Francisco 49ers) banged through a 53-yard field goal for Baltimore on a rainy night as he fills in for Tyler Loop … and perhaps makes a bid to replace him. (Work with me, it was that kind of game.)
Cam Little
Jacksonville’s kicker made all four of his field-goal tries in the somewhat inclement weather and was 3-for-3 on PATs, furthering his case as the league’s best at his position.
Joe Fagnano
Props to a guy who’s undrafted – out of UConn no less – but makes a 53-man roster out of training camp and perseveres long enough to start an NFL game. How many people can say that?
LOSERS
Joe Fagnano
But though Fagnano wears No. 12, he’s no Tom Brady – and most certainly won’t relegate Lamar Jackson to a Drew Bledsoe fate. In his first – only? – pro start, Fagnano passed for 60 yards and two interceptions. But good news, y’all, the Ravens are back in prime time for Week 10.
ESPN and the NFL schedule makers
Good luck whipping up interest around another non-flexible matchup when the about-to-be-acquired Jacoby Brissett will almost certainly be starting for the Ravens against the almost certainly winless Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 16.
Prime Video
They also had no opportunity to flex out of a bad matchup on a wet evening, leaving us with riveting television like Kirk Herbstreit asking Al Michaels, “What do you think of (Jaguars HC) Liam Coen?” Or Herbstreit proving he’d heard of Fred Taylor, Mark Brunell and Jimmy Smith. Or Michaels making one of his lightly veiled references to the over/under.
Trevor Lawrence
Very modest numbers (242 yards and a TD through the humid air) – but there was absolutely no reason for Coen to be in his bag on a night when the Jags didn’t need to dig deep for a win … unless he wanted to inflate T-Law’s numbers a bit given he’s likely to be a league MVP finalist in a couple months.
Travis Hunter
Jacksonville’s two-way “star” had one catch for -1 yard and fumbled.
Brian Thomas Jr.
Hunter had that kind of production, but the 2024 first-rounder didn’t even draw a target – at a time when the Jags should at least be trying to showcase him a bit ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Eric DeCosta
Gonna be an interesting few months for the Ravens GM. By opting to acquire Brissett from the Arizona Cardinals, he’s sent a clear signal that a team that’s now 4-5 and falling deeper in the AFC North basement is unwilling to give up on a season that probably effectively ended when Jackson injured his thumb in Buffalo last week. Should DeCosta rethink his position? Might he be better served to deal a player like RB Derrick Henry given the untenable state of Baltimore’s 2027 salary cap – nearly $46 million overspent, per Over The Cap, with Jackson accounting for $84.3 million of it himself in terms of a cap charge. And if Jackson won’t agree to a long-term extension next year, DeCosta must deal with a whole other suite of personnel issues.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ravens season slipping away as Jaguars cruise on rainy night: TNF winners, losers
