While the Jacksonville Jaguars may have had plans to make Week 15’s game against the Baltimore Ravens competitive, literally nothing in their gameplan worked Sunday. In fact, the Ravens didn’t even need veterans Mark Ingram or Calais Campbell in the process as both were inactive in the Ravens’ dominant 40-14 victory.
The Jags started the game with some positive highlights as safety Josh Jones picked off quarterback Lamar Jackson in the first series, but it was all downhill after that. In fact, the Jags gave up a safety and went scoreless for the whole half while the Ravens put up 26 points.
After Jackson’s pick, the Ravens scored points in their next four drives, with touchdowns coming from receivers Miles Boykin and Dez Bryant and running back J.K. Dobbins. The Ravens were also able to put up a Justin Tucker field goal along the way.
With the score at 26-0 after the first half, the Jags came out with a jolt and were able to score on their first drive thanks to a beautiful breadbasket pass to running back James Robinson from quarterback Gardner Minshew II. That put the score at 26-7, but unfortunately, the Ravens didn’t relinquish the lead by scoring touchdowns in their first and last drives of the third quarter. One touchdown was a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Jackson, and the other was a 3-yard pass to tight end Mark Andrews.
With the game well out of hand, the Jags scored a 13-yard receiving touchdown through Chris Conley during their last drive of the game, putting the game at its final score of 40-14.
Sunday’s game marked Minshew’s return and first start since the Jags’ Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Needless to say, it was uneventful, although he finished the game 22-of-29 for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks. While he was sacked five times and under pressure often, he also was behind the Jags’ safety and fumble that was swiped by former Jag Yannick Ngakoue.
Overall, the Ravens put up 409 yards on offense while the Jags only had 267. On Baltimore’s end, Jackson finished the game 17-of-22 for 243 yards, three touchdowns, and a pick. Rookie J.K. Dobbins led the way on the ground with 64 yards and a touchdown, and Brown was the leading receiver with six catches for 98 yards.
The Jags now have two games remaining. The first will be their last home game against the Chicago Bears, who are currently 7-7 and lurking for the No. 7 NFC playoff seed. Needless to say, they will come into Jacksonville locked in and focused as they try to snag the last playoff seed from the 8-6 Arizona Cardinals.