The Jacksonville Jaguars improved to 5-2 on the season Thursday night with a 31-24 win against the New Orleans Saints.
It was a fourth consecutive win for the Jaguars and their first ever victory at the Caesars Superdome, where they were previously 0-3.
Jacksonville put the pressure on the Saints early in the game with a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive touchdown. Jacksonville built a 15-point lead through the first three quarters, but it quickly evaporated in the fourth quarter.
But the Jaguars got a 44-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Christian Kirk that put the team back on top.
.@ckirk to the CRIIIIB!#JAXvsNO on @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/kzZ2wsFUC4
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 20, 2023
A gassed Jacksonville defense did just enough to end the game with a timely stop in the red zone to ice it.
Here’s how it all went down in the Thursday night win for the Jaguars:
Jaguars MVPs of the game: CBs Darious Williams, Montaric Brown, Tre Herndon
Former Razorback Montaric Brown makes a nice PBU for the Jaguars on TNF. pic.twitter.com/O7NWgbiuvu
— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) October 20, 2023
A secondary without Tyson Campbell didn’t look lost without him.
Despite being without the starting cornerback, the Jaguars secondary had the Saints receivers locked down for much of the night. Brown was far from a liability in his first start of the year and had a nice pass breakup in the end zone to shut down one New Orleans possession. A Williams pass breakup led to a pick six.
While the Saints moved the ball well in the fourth quarter, it was still the Jaguars secondary that won the team the game.
Saints MVP of the game: RB Alvin Kamara
For much of the game, the Saints’ only way to move the ball on offense was to dump the ball off short to Kamara. When New Orleans finally put together a quick touchdown drive late, it was Kamara that hauled in the game-tying two-point conversion.
The Saints running back finished with 62 rushing yards and 12 receptions for 91 receiving yards. Kamara led his team on all three of those statistics.
Jaguars play of the game: Foye Oluokun's pick six
Foye Oluokun makes a house call off the deflection ‼️ #JAXvsNO on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/89nUeCngbn pic.twitter.com/6dwZB25nxD— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2023
After a strong start to the game, the Jaguars offense stalled for a lengthy stretch. It threatened to allow the Saints to slowly climb back into contention, but the Jacksonville defense gave the team a much-needed boost in the third quarter.
On a third down deep in New Orleans territory, Darious Williams deflected a pass right into the waiting arms of Oluokun who took it back for his first career touchdown.
It was over when ... Montaric Brown broke up a pass in the end zone on 4th down
BIG TIME BUSTER!@lockdown_2121 | #JAXvsNO on @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/nOHFgSP2o5
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 20, 2023
The Jaguars defense was on the field far too much in the second half and the toll it took was obvious in the fourth quarter. But when the Saints got in the red zone with a chance to tie the game, Jacksonville did just enough to get the win, finishing it with a Montaric Brown pass breakup.
Stat that says it all: Saints 3-of-18 on 3rd down
The Saints got a couple touchdowns late, but the defense deserves all the credit for this win. The Jaguars forced New Orleans into 18 third downs and shut down 15 of them.
What's next?
The Jaguars get some much-needed time to heal up with 10 days before their next game. In Week 8 they’ll travel to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
The 3-2 Steelers will play Sunday on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
