Ravens 23, Jaguars 7: Jacksonville Drops 3rd Straight as Trevor Lawrence Struggles
The Jacksonville Jaguars are officially reeling.
For the first time since last October, the Jaguars are riding a three-game losing streak after a 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
Perhaps worst of all, the Jaguars can likely pin the loss directly on third-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who finished the night with two costly fumbles and a heap of missed throws.
Lawrence finished the game 25-of-43 for 264 yards and a touchdown, but between his turnovers and inaccurate passes, the margin of error was non-existent for a battered Jaguars team that will now fall to 8-6.
The Jaguars opened the game with a pair of successful plays from Travis Etienne, who started the drive with a six-yard run on first down and then a 13-yard catch-and-run on 3rd-and-4 to keep the drive alive.
After a missed throw from Trevor Lawrence to Zay Jones on third down, however, the Jaguars were forced to punt. And former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson didn't take long to get going, completing 4-of-6 passes for 60 yards before a Josh Allen quarterback hit on third down forced a Justin Tucker field goal.
The Jaguars started moving the ball on the next drive with a 28-yard pass from Lawrence to backup tight end Luke Farell. The drive eventually stalled, though, and ended with a missed 50-yard field goal from Brandon McManus.
Jacksonville's defense came alive on the next drive, however, with Travon Walker recording his sixth sack of the season with a massive third down manhandling of right tackle Morgan Moses.
But for the second time in the first 17 minutes of the game, McManus was off the mark, missing a 55-yard field goal wide left.
Just like the defense did after his first miss, though, they made a play to bail the Jaguars out of their funk. This time, it came in the form of a Rayshawn Jenkins interception, who returned it 17 yards to the Jaguars' own 48-yard line.
After the Jaguars managed to drive all the way to the Ravens' 18, they continued to shoot themselves in the foot with a brutal three play sequence.
First, a false start on Evan Engram turned 2nd-and-12 into 2nd-and-17.
Then, Parker Washington dropped an accurate pass that would have made it 3rd-and-short.
Finally, Lawrence had one of his worst plays of the season, committing an unforced fumble as he scrambled on 3rd-and-17, resulting in a brutal turnover.
The Ravens then had a 13-play, 60-yard drive that ended in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Likely, giving the Ravens a 10-0 lead with 1:12 left in the first-half.
The Jaguars still had a chance for points, though, after a 29-yard kick return from Agnew was followed up by a 36-yard catch by Zay Jones.
But, just like so many other times in 2023, the Jaguars took points off the scoreboard with self-inflicted wounds. This time it came in the form of a one-yard completion to Washington, who failed to get out of bounds. As a result, the running clock hit 00:00 and the Jaguars went into the locker room with a 10-0 deficit.
Jacksonville's defense continued to make plays coming out of the half, with Jenkins continuing his big game with a third-down sack of Jackson to force the Ravens to punt.
A few plays later, the Jaguars finally found the end zone after failing on four previous attempts, with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Agnew reviving the previously stagnant offense.
But after plenty of stops from the defense throughout the game, they finally buckled on a five-play, 58-yard drive after a 24-yard run from Keaton Mitchell and a 26-yard bomb from Jackson to Likely. This set up a one-yard touchdown from Gus Edwards, making it a 17-7 game.
After the Jaguars failed to convert first downs on back-to-back drives, the Ravens took 5:32 off the clock with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended in a 26-yard field goal from Tucker, putting Jacksonville in a 20-7 hole.
The final critical mistake then came on 3rd-and-10 with 7:47 left. After inaccurate back-to-back passes to Jones and Calvin Ridley, Lawrence fumbled for the second time, this time at the Jaguars' own 19 to set up a chip shot from Tucker and make it a 23-7 game.
Stats of the Game (12/17/23 vs. Ravens) Via: @theryanmichael
Trevor Lawrence finished the game competing 25 of 43 passes (58.1%) for 264 yards (6.1 YPA), 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles and a 83.9 passer rating. He carried the ball 4 times for 41 yards (10.3 YPC).
Travis Etienne carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards (3.1 YPC). Etienne now has 10 games this season averaging fewer than 4.0 YPC.
Jamal Agnew caught 2 passes for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.
Calvin Ridley caught 5 passes off of 12 targets for 39 yards (3.3 yards/target).
Andrew Wingard notched 11 tackles (10 solo).
Rayshawn Jenkins notched 6 tackles (4 solo), 1 sack and 1 TFL.
Stats of the Game (12/17/23 vs. Ravens) Via: @theryanmichael
Trevor Lawrence finished the game competing 25 of 43 passes (58.1%) for 264 yards (6.1 YPA), 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles and a 83.9 passer rating. He carried the ball 4 times for 41 yards (10.3 YPC).
Travis Etienne carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards (3.1 YPC). Etienne now has 10 games this season averaging fewer than 4.0 YPC.
Jamal Agnew caught 2 passes for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.
Calvin Ridley caught 5 passes off of 12 targets for 39 yards (3.3 yards/target).
Andrew Wingard notched 11 tackles (10 solo).
Rayshawn Jenkins notched 6 tackles (4 solo), 1 sack and 1 TFL.
