Buccaneers 30, Jaguars 12: Trevor Lawrence Melts Down on Christmas Eve
The Jacksonville Jaguars were badly hoping the Christmas season would bring good tidings, cheer, and an end to a losing streak that has now defined their season.
Instead, they got a lump of coal and a trio of turnovers from Trevor Lawrence, with each resulting in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers touchdown in a 30-12 loss.
With the loss, which is Jacksonville's fourth in a row, the Jaguars will now drop to 8-7. The only good news for the Jaguars is that they will leave Tampa Bay with the AFC South lead still intact after the division went 0-3 during the early slate of games.
Between Lawrence's two interceptions and fumble, and Evan Engram's fourth-quarter fumble, the Jaguars turned the ball over four times for the second time this month.
After Roy Robertson-Harris recorded a sack on the second play from scrimmage, Trey Palmer took advantage of a missed tackle by Foyesade Oluokun to pick up 18 yards and get the Buccaneers near midfield.
A 22-yard catch by Chris Godwin over Tre Herndon on third-down extended the drive, though the Jaguars finally offered some resistance when DaVon Hamilton stuffed the Buccaneers for -4 yards on first-and-goal. Tampa Bay was then forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal after Adam Gotsis deflected a third-down pass.
Facing a 3-0 deficit, the Jaguars had a chance to turn their first drive into a productive one after back-to-back completions of 11 yards to Evan Engream and Travis Etienne. But disaster quickly struck -- again -- for a Jaguars offense that just can't get out of its way.
After Trevor Lawrence and D'Ernest Johnson fumbled a handoff exchange that lost five yards, the Jaguars essentially wasted a down on 2nd-and-15 with a low-percentage deep shot to Tim Jones.
On the next play, Lawrence was picked off by Devin White, giving Lawrence his sixth turnover (four interceptions, two fumbles) in the last nine quarters, dating back to Week 14 vs. the Cleveland Browns.
A Mike Evans catch for 19 yards helped Tampa Bay get into scoring position, while a conversion on 4th-and-2 following a missed sack by K'Lavon Chaisson on third-down. Evans then capped the drive off with a three-yard touchdown, putting the Jaguars in an early 10-0 hole.
After a 12-yard completion to Jamal Agnew to start the next drive, the Jaguars were once again put in a 3rd-and-long after an eight-yard loss on a Lavonte David sack.
The Jaguars saw a rookie make a big play, though, with Elijah Cooks catching a 23-yard pass on 3rd-and-12 to move the chains. But, just like so many other games this year, the Jaguars got in their own way and took points off the board.
Facing 1st-and-10 from Tampa Bay's 26-yard line, the Jaguars opted for an end-around carry from Calvin Ridley, resulting in a 12-yard loss and dooming the Jaguars' drive.
A few plays later, Brandon McManus was wide-right from 52 yards out, his fifth miss in his last six attempts. One roughing the passer on fourth down penalty on Andre Cisco later, and the Buccaneers then jumped out to a 13-0 lead.
After the Jaguars got to their own 46-yard line, Lawrence once again gave away potential points with an overshot pass to Engram that resulted in an interception by Antoine Winfield.
Tampa Bay then saw Mayfield and Evans connect for their second touchdown of the game, a 22-yard strike that forced the Jaguars into a 20-0 hole at halftime.
The Jaguars came out of halftime looking more or less like the same team, with Lawrence committing his third turnover of the game on a YaYa Diaby strip-sack.
And for the third time, Tampa Bay turned a Lawrence turnover into a touchdown, this time a two-yard touchdown by Rachaad White to put the Jaguars down 27-0.
It took until the final minute of the third-quarter for the Jaguars to escape a shutout, with Calvin Ridley catching an 18-yard touchdown, making the score 30-6 in a long-lost battle.
Ridlet would then score a second touchdown in the final five minutes, though this one came from C.J. Beathard after Lawrence left the game with a shoulder injury in the final quarter.
Stats of the Game (12/24/23 @ Buccaneers) Via: @theryanmichael
Trevor Lawrence finished the game competing 18 of 30 passes (60.0%) for 213 yards (7.1 YPA), 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks and a 65.0 passer rating. Lawrence carried the ball 4 times for 29 yards (7.3 YPC).
C.J. Beathard completed 11 of 15 passes (73.3%) for 94 yards (6.3 YPA), 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 1 sack and a 111.5 passer rating.
Travis Etienne carried the ball 6 times for 12 yards (2.0 YPC).
Calvin Ridley caught 6 passes for 90 yards (15.0 yards/catch) and 2 touchdowns.
Evan Engram caught 10 passes for 95 yards (9.5 yards/catch).
Foyesade Oluokun recorded 12 total tackles (7 solo).
