JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Quarterback Trevor Lawrence led the Jacksonville Jaguars to a comeback win Sunday over the Ravens, answering a late score with a touchdown and successful 2-point conversion in a dramatic 28-27 victory.
Justin Tucker’s would-be game-winning 67-yard field goal attempt fell short as time expired, ending the Ravens’ four-game winning streak and sending them into a tie atop the AFC North with the Bengals. (Both teams are 7-4, but the Ravens have the tiebreaker over the Bengals by virtue of their Week 5 win.)
At the end of a 10-play, 75-yard drive, Lawrence found wide receiver Marvin Jones for a 10-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining that narrowed the Ravens’ lead to 27-26. Rather than settle for an extra point, the offense stayed on the field. Jones found Zay Jones from 2 yards out, and the Ravens trailed with 14 seconds remaining.
The Ravens, wasteful all afternoon, seemed like they were in position for a crucial road win after quarterback Lamar Jackson found tight end Josh Oliver for a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
Jackson, who’d struggled with his downfield passing all afternoon at TIAA Bank Field, hit wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a 62-yard completion on second-and-long to propel the Ravens’ decisive drive. Rather than try to run out the clock, the Ravens put the ball in Jackson’s hands. He found Oliver, a 2019 third-round pick of the Jaguars, wide open on a play-action pass for a touchdown that gave the Ravens a 25-20 lead with just 2:02 remaining.
Tight end Mark Andrews converted the ensuing 2-point conversion, straining across the goal line on a shovel pass play, to give the Ravens a seven-point cushion.
Jackson finished 16-for-32 for 242 yards and a touchdown, and added 14 carries for a game-high 89 yards. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 29-for-37 for 321 yards and three touchdowns.
The teams traded fourth-quarter momentum swings as if the game were affixed to a pendulum. Handed a short field by outside linebacker Tyus Bowser’s strip-sack, the Ravens capped a 25-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown by running back Gus Edwards, returning after missing a month with knee and hamstring injuries. His second effort was enough to carry him past the goal line and hand the Ravens a 19-10 lead.
They didn’t enjoy the advantage for long. On a 75-yard touchdown drive, the Jaguars (4-7) converted a fourth-and-8 against a Ravens defense temporarily missing cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Cornerback Marcus Peters, who was closest in coverage on the fourth-down completion, also gave up the 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamal Agnew.
The Jaguars retook the lead on the following drive with the Ravens’ help. Edwards fumbled on their first play of the subsequent drive, and Jacksonville recovered at the Ravens’ 16. The defense held from there, forcing a three-and-out and watching kicker Riley Patterson give the Jaguars a 20-19 lead with a 29-yard field goal.
All game, the Ravens’ most promising drives had fizzled out before the goal line. They needed just three plays to cover 62 yards on their opening second-half possession, but then the doldrums set in once more.
Jackson watched a would-be 18-yard touchdown pass to Oliver skip off his fingertips twice. With a fresh set of downs at the Jaguars’ 7, the Ravens lost 1 yard on first down, gained 3 on second down and lost 1 on third down. Kicker Justin Tucker came on for his fourth field goal attempt, restoring the Ravens’ lead, 12-10, with a 24-yard field goal.
The Ravens had to settle in the first half, too. They marched to Jacksonville’s 10-yard line on their opening possession before a delay-of-game penalty knocked them off schedule. On the offense’s second drive, Jackson missed wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in the back of the end zone on a third-down attempt. Tucker ended the series with 27- and 29-yard field goals before connecting from 55 yards late in the second quarter.
The Ravens’ wasteful offense gave Jacksonville a spark, too. After Jackson fumbled at midfield on fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter, the Jaguars’ offense finally clicked into gear. Jacksonville had three plays of at least 12 yards on a four-play touchdown drive, the last a 28-yard strike from Lawrence to running back JaMycal Hasty. Lawrence appeared to bait Peters out of position with a quick hitch before finding Hasty down the sideline.
The Jaguars took a 10-9 lead into halftime after a field goal drive that burned off most of the second quarter’s final five minutes. Lawrence turned to Hasty again on a crucial third-and-3, beating the blitz with a swing pass to the wide-open running back, whose 24-yard catch-and-run took Jacksonville to the Ravens’ 6.
