Jaguars Hit Jackpot in Vegas; move to 5-3

With five fourth quarter and overtime lead changes and 24 points scored, a game that started slow turned out to be anything but as the Jaguars won by one point on the road on Sunday. Another Trevor Lawrence

“Superman” dive over the goalline, 1.5 fourth quarter and overtime sacks by Josh Hines-Allen, and a dominant 115-yards from scrimmage from Travis Etienne. Here’s everything you need to know from Jacksonville’s Week 9 30-29 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

Live blog:

Catch up on all the big plays and best moments from tonight’s game in our live blog!

Pregame Notes:

The following Las Vegas players did not play in this one:

• RB Zamir White
• WR Dont’e Thornton Jr.
• OL Caleb Rogers
• DT JJ Pegues
• DT Tonka Hemingway

The Raiders are as healthy as they have been all season, with Slot CB Darnay Holmes the only listed starter made inactive versus Jacksonville. WR Tyler Lockett also signed with Las Vegas before the week 9 matchup, making his Raiders debut in this one. For Jacksonville, the following players did not participate:

• WR Tim Patrick (groin)
• WR/CB Travis Hunter (knee – IR)
• TE Quinton Morris (groin)
• LB Devin Lloyd (calf)
• S Eric Murray (neck – IR)

RB Cody Schrader, OL Wyatt Milum, and DT Khalen Saunders Sr were all healthy scratches. Additionally, the team announced in pregame that QB Trevor Lawrence was ill. However, his illness did not impact his game status. The following Jacksonville players left Sunday’s game due to injury:

• WR Dyami Brown (concussion)
• WR Brian Thomas Jr (ankle) – returned
• CB Jourdan Lewis (shoulder)
• TE Hunter Long (hip and knee) – returned

1st Quarter

The Raiders opened the day with a kickoff short of the landing zone, giving Jacksonville their opening possession at the 40-yard line. However, Lawrence and Dyami Brown were unable to connect on third and six, with Brown running a curl route drifting inside, with Lawrence’s pass aimed outside to avoid the underneath linebacker. After the punt, and an early down Ashton Jeanty first down via two rushes for 17-yards, the Jacksonville defense held Geno Smith and the Raiders’ passing offense to a five yard completion, followed by second and third down incompletions to force a punt.

Jacksonville’s’ following drive started off much improved, with a first down, 10-yard Dyami Brown catch to move the chains. Following the conversion, Lawrence connected with Parker Washington (6-yards), Brian Thomas Jr (10-yards), and Brown again (16-yards), before returning to the ground game. After an Etienne 10-yard rush, and a Bhayshul Tuten 4-yard rush to convert on fourth and one, Lawrence attempted to squeeze the ball into an extremely covered Dyami Brown in the endzone. The second down pass was intercepted, as Lawrence abandoned what looked to be a called-shovel pass, resulting in a redzone turnover.

The impressive 17 play, 81 yard, 10:27 drive featuring Travis Etienne in the wildcat formation, I formation, smashmouth football, and a double pass play all came away with zero points.

2nd Quarter

After again allowing some success on the ground to Jeanty, the Jacksonville defense again held strong in the backend, while down CB Jourdan Lewis (left with a shoulder injury). After three first down conversions, two on the ground by Jeanty, the defense held the Raiders to a turnover on downs. CB Greg Newsome forced multiple incompletions early in this one, with the newly acquired CB in coverage on Raiders’ TE Michael Mayer on the fourth down incompletion (pressure by LB Dennis Gardeck).

On the following series, a holding penalty on Patrick Mekari negated an impressive, second down 25-yard Hunter Long catch. However, Lawrence converted the series one play later via a Parker Washington catch. After two illegal motion penalties wiped out gains of 8 and 17-yards, Jacksonville punted back to Las Vegas. The Raiders offense then drove 13-plays for 95-yards, as Brock Bowers brought in an impressive, one-handed touchdown on Greg Newsome to cap the drive. The Raiders missed the extra point. (Jaguars 0, Raiders 6)

With just 35-seconds remaining in the half, Jacksonville could have gone the cautious route and ran out the clock to head into halftime to reset, following a dismissal first half. However, Coach Coen and Lawrence decided to push the ball down field, completing a contested 18-yard pass to Parker Washington, which allowed Jacksonville a chance at a long field goal. Cam Little drilled the new NFL record, 68-yard field goal to close out the half. (Jaguars 3, Raiders 6)

Halftime Player Stats:

• QB Trevor Lawrence: 12/19 for 100-yards, 1 int (54.7 passer rating)
• RB Travis Etienne: 7 carries for 19-yards (2.7 YPC)
• Parker Washington: 4 catches for 44-yards (11.0 YPR) on 4 targets)
• QB Geno Smith: 14/20 for 113 yards, 1 TD (100.6 passer rating)
• RB Ashton Jeanty: 7 carries for 38-yards (5.4 YPC)
• TE Brock Bowers: 4 catches for 41 and 1 TD (10.3 YPR)

Team Stats:

• Score: Jaguars 3, Raiders 6
• First downs: Jaguars 9, Raiders 12
• Time of possession: Jaguars 18:22, Raiders 11:38
• Sacks: Jaguars 0, Raiders 0
• Turnovers forced: Jaguars 0, Raiders 1
• Rushing yards: Jaguars 36, Raiders 40
• Yards per rush: Jaguars 2.8, Raiders 5.0
• Passing yards: Jaguars 100, Raiders 113
• Passing yards per attempt: Jaguars 5.3, Raiders 5.7
• Redzone: Jaguars 0-1 (0%), Raiders 1-1 (100%)
• Penalties: Jaguars 6 for 42-yards, Raiders 5 for 35-yards
• Points off turnovers: Jaguars 0, Raiders 0

3rd Quarter

The Jacksonville defense kicked off the second half with a quick turnover, as Montaric Brown jumped in front of Raiders’ TE Michael Mayer to give the ball back to the offense on the second play of the half.

Following the interception, the offense picked up one first down before another Cam Little field goal – this one just 33-yards to tie the game. (Jaguars 6, Raiders 6)

Following a 43-yard kick return to the Jacksonville 43-yard line, the Las Vegas offense again put together an effective drive featuring their running backs and tight ends on the Jaguars’ linebackers and secondary. A Jeanty 10-yard pass and a 14-yard Bowers catch, coupled with a Josh Hines-Allen roughing the passer to move the Raiders into the redzone. However, the defense held without surrendering a touchdown, following a false start on Las Vegas. A Jarrian Jones pass breakup on Tyler Lockett and a Foye Oluokun forced incompletion on Smith’s third down endzone attempt to Bowers resulted in a Raiders short field goal to regain their early lead. (Jaguars 6, Raiders 9)

Following the field goal, DE Travon Walker was ejected from the game due to throwing a punch.

4th Quarter

The Jaguars’ offense got their run game going on the next drive, after a 22-yard Parker Washington catch, 10 of Jacksonville’s 13-plays came on the ground. Travis Etienne converted a fourth and short, with Coen passing up on the short field goal attempt.

Lawrence wrapped up the drive, running the ball into the endzone on a designed rush to take a fourth quarter lead. (Jaguars 13, Raiders 9)

The Jaguars defense again struggled to get the Raiders offense off the field, allowing another extended drive of 9-plays, 69-yards, while taking off 5:12 of game clock. Vegas continued to target the Jacksonville linebackers with gains of 10, 14, and 15-yards by the Raiders’ tight ends and running backs in the passing game. Jeanty’s 15-yard gain went for a Raiders’ go-ahead touchdown. (Jaguars 13, Raider 16)

Brian Thomas Jr came down with his biggest play of the day on the following drive, a 34-yard catch and run. He temporarily went to the sideline after having his ankle rolled up on with Dyami Brown also in the locker room being checked for a concussion. Jacksonville continued the 9-play, 74-yard touchdown with a 20-yard Etienne rush and a one-yard Tuten rush for the score. (Jaguars 20, Raiders 16)

The Raiders’ offense quickly moved down the field with ease, with 56 of Vegas’ 62-yards coming courtesy of their duo of tight ends (9, 9, 11, and 27-yards), Bower found space inside of the Jacksonville zone to score the fourth fourth quarter lead change with 1:52 remaining in the matchup. (Jaguars 20, Raiders 23)

With two timeouts and 1:52 remaining, the Jaguars worked their way into field goal range via a 16-yard reception and a 15-yard catch and run by Tim Jones, who was recently called up from the practice squad with Travis Hunter placed on IR. Cam Little made the 48-yard kick to tie the game at 23 and Josh Hines-Allen sacked Geno Smith as time expired to force overtime. (Jaguars 23, Raiders 23)

WR Austin Trammel took the overtime opening kickoff 54-yards to the Vegas 44-yard line, setting Jacksonville up with great field position. Jacksonville remained aggressive pushing the ball down the field as Parker Washington secured a 13-yard catch. That was followed by an Etienne 10-yard rush, back to back Tuten rushes of 11 and 7-yards to get into the redzone. Jacksonville was stopped short on three downs from the one-yard line, opting to go for it on fourth-and-goal from inches out. Lawrence took it in his hands, taking the snap and reaching the ball over the goal for the games’ fifth lead change since the fourth quarter. (Jaguars 30, Raiders 23)

The Raiders needed a touchdown and extra point, with 3:24 remaining in overtime and two timeouts. A 51-yard kick return by Vegas gave the Raiders the ball at Jacksonville’s 45-yard line, with Smith connecting with WR Tre Tucker for a 22-yard reception to approach the redzone. Brock Bowers then beat Dewey Wingard for the touchdown.

DT Davon Hamilton came through with his play of the day, realizing he was double teamed and unlikely to get pressure, he read Geno’s eyes, jumping and deflecting the games’ final pass, securing the Jacksonville win.

With this 30-29 Jaguars win, the team moves to 5-3 and second in the AFC South, behind the 7-2 Indianapolis Colts who lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. With their 5-3 record, Jacksonville’s chances of a 2025 playoff birth increase from 32% to 64%, per Fox Sports.

Biggest play(s) of the game:

According to rbsdm.com, the biggest play of the game by Expected Points Added (EPA) was the early Lawrence interception (-7.3 EPA).

Per rbsdm.com, the biggest play of the game by Win Probability was the final play of the day.

Notably, Tyler Lockett looked to have been wide open on the play, with Antonio Johnson trailing in coverage.

Key stats (traditional):

• QB Trevor Lawrence: 23/34 for 220-yards, 1 int (73.2 passer rating), 9 carries for 24-yards, and 2 TD runs
• RB Travis Etienne: 22 carries for 84-yards (3.8 YPC) and 5 catches for 31-yards (6.2 YPR)
• WR Parker Washington: 8 catches for 90-yards (11.3 YPR) on 9 targets
• DE Josh Hines-Allen: 3 tackles (1 solo), 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss
• LB Foye Oluokun: 11 tackles (5 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defensed
• CB Jarrian Jones: 10 tackles (6 solo), 1 pass defensed
• CB Montaric Brown: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 interceptions (leading to 3-points)

View the full box score here.

Game balls:

• Special Teams: K Cam Little: 3/3 with NFL record 68-yard field goal, 3/3 on extra points, and a tackle on kick return
• Defense: CB Montaric Brown: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 interceptions (leading to 3-points)
• Offense: RB Travis Etienne: 115-yards from scrimmage (84-yards rushing on 22 carries and 31-yards receiving on 5 catches)

PFF notables:

The team over at Pro Football Focus noted the following from the game:

The Raiders ended Sunday with 208 yards after the catch to Jacksonville’s 88

Jacksonville lead in net rushing yards 153 to 51-yards

Full highlights:

• You can watch the top plays of the Week 9 matchup on the NFL’s YouTube channel here.

Post-game notables:

1. A familiar foe returns

Offensive penalties continue to plague this team, with two false start flags on second drive. This was followed by a Patrick Mekari holding penalty and two illegal motion flags on the third series. The offense had two opportunities to score wiped out via a false start at the one-yard line, which eventually resulted in an interception and two illegal motions wipe out an 8-yard and 17-yard receptions. In total, the team left Sunday’s matchup with 9 accepted penalties for 80-yards, with 10 penalties overall.

• False starts (2): Cole Van Lanen and Hunter Long
• Illegal motion (2): Trevor Lawrence and Johnny Mundt
• Holding (1): Patrick Mekari
• Pass Interference (2): Ventrell Miller and Jarrian Jones
• Unnecessary Roughness (2): Ventrell Miller and Travon Walker
• Roughing the Passer (1): Josh Hines-Allen

2. Parker Washington, next man up?

With Travis Hunter placed on IR with a knee injury and Tim Patrick sidelined on Sunday with a groin injury, receiver Parker Washington dominated in the middle of the field against the Raiders. Dyami Brown also left the field of play in the forth quarter with a concussion. While his 8 catches for 90-yards and 9 targets were the bane of Brian Thomas Jr fantasy football drafters everywhere, in “real football”, Washington was objectively, the best Jacksonville receiver on the field Sunday by a wide margin. He caught multiple balls in the middle of the field, while expecting contact, yet held on. He caught contested balls, passes thrown away from his body, and found a way to pick up the ever elusive yards after catch for this Jacksonville passing offense. If he keeps up this level of play, Jacksonville may have an answer to who will fill the Travis Hunter-sized void, offensively.

3. Recent struggles continue versus tight ends

The Jacksonville’s defensive struggles while missing Devin Lloyd, and more recently Eric Murray, continue. Since Lloyd was unable to finish the week 6 Seattle Seahawks matchup, Jacksonville has surrendered the following to a normally more muted position grouping – NFL tight ends:

• AJ Barner (Seattle Seahawks): 3 catches for 71-yards (1 first down)
• Colby Parkinson (Los Angeles Rams): 3 catches for 47-yards (2 first downs)
• Terrance Ferguson (Los Angeles Rams): 1 catch for 31-yards (1 TD)
• Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders): 12 catches for 127-yards (3 TDs, 7 first downs)

The recent trend of opponents seeming to target the Jacksonville safety and linebacker groups in the passing game will be a consistent issue that Anthony Campanile will have to address, with Los Angeles Chargers’ Oronde Gadsden, Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride, and Indianapolis Colts’ Tyler Warren (twice) still to come on Jacksonville’s schedule.

What are your thoughts from tonight’s game, Jaguars fans? Who surprised you most or disappointed you with their play tonight? Let us know in the comments.