The Raiders (3-12) snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating the Jaguars (3-12) 19-14 on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the projected 2025 NFL draft order to conclude a matchup between teams eliminated from postseason contention weeks ago.
Formerly holding the No. 1 pick through Week 15, Las Vegas fell to No. 6 in the current order by defeating Jacksonville, per Tankathon. The Jaguars inched up one spot, from No. 4 to 3, as a result of the defeat and a loss by the New England Patriots (3-12), who are in the No. 2 slot at press time.
Jacksonville saw three key players exit the game in the first half with injuries — starters in left tackle Walker Little (ankle) and safety Darnell Savage Jr. (concussion evaluation), and rotational linebacker Ventrell Miller (ankle).
Another pair of Jaguars starters, right tackle Anton Harrison (shoulder) and cornerback Tyson Campbell (shoulder), also suffered injuries but were able to finish the contest.
Jacksonville struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half outside of a first-quarter touchdown drive that began at Las Vegas’ 29-yard line, created by a 26-yard punt return by Jaguars wide receiver Devin Duvernay paired with an unnecessary roughness penalty by the Raiders. Running back Tank Bigsby punched in the score from the one-yard line.
The Jaguars punted four times and saw consecutive drives end in fumbles in the first half, otherwise, with Bigsby losing the ball to end a 10-yard carry and tight end Brenton Strange muffing to conclude a nine-yard catch.
The Raiders could not capitalize on either turnover, however, which limited Las Vegas’ lead to 13-7 at halftime, generated by an Alexander Mattison one-yard rushing touchdown and two Daniel Carlson field goals.
After a nearly 18-minute scoreless stretch of the matchup, in which the teams combined for seven accepted penalties, Jacksonville briefly found life with quarterback Mac Jones finding a wide-open Brian Thomas Jr. for a 62-yard touchdown, the biggest highlight of another franchise record-setting day for the rookie wide receiver.
But the Raiders responded immediately with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a seven-yard Ameer Abdullah rushing score after quarterback Aidan O’Connell completed four passes in a row for 47 yards in the fourth quarter.
Las Vegas failed a two-point conversion attempt after Abdullah’s touchdown, but Jacksonville could not find another offensive spark to reclaim the lead. The Jaguars went three plays for six yards on their penultimate drive and turned the ball over on downs on their final possession, an eight-play, 39-yard series that ended in their own territory.
Jacksonville will hold its final home game of the 2024 season in Week 17 with the Jaguars set to host the Tennessee Titans (3-12) at EverBank Stadium on Sunday.
