Jaguars Mount Second Half Comeback, Down Raiders in Final Oakland Home Game
The final home game in Oakland didn't end without any dramatics. Unfortunately for the Raiders faithful in The Black Hole, their final Sunday in Oakland ended in heartbreaking fashion after the Jacksonville Jaguars scored 17 unanswered second half points to beat the Oakland Raiders 20-16.
Despite Jacksonville not winning a game on the west coast since January 2005, they felt no coast-to-coast during an impressive second half comeback Sunday, bringing their record to 5-9. The win snaps a five-game losing streak and is Jacksonville's first win since Oct. 27 (Week 8 vs. the New York Jets).
The Jaguars didn't make it look easy in their first win in 49 days, though. Jacksonville started the game by allowing a 40-yard Tyrell Williams touchdown on the seventh play of the game. Williams broke a Jarrod Wilson tackle and then practically walked into the end zone, making it look like it would be another long Sunday for a Jaguars team that had lost five games in a row by at least 17 points.
Jaguars' rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew quickly punched back, connecting with Keelan Cole on a 55-yard pass down the left sideline to convert a big third down and set up a Josh Lambo 28-yard field goal.
Minshew was instrumental in Jacksonville recovering from a 16-3 halftime deficit. After a first half where he was 3-for-10 passing for 69 yards, Minshew found his rhythm in the second half and came up with some clutch plays, including the second game-winning drive of his career. He ended the game 17-for-29 for 201 yards and two touchdowns, the second comeback road win of his career.
Minshew was given a chance to either tie with Oakland or take the lead after Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson had a few miscues. First, Carlson missed a 50-yard field goal wide left but he got a chance to redeem himself when cornerback Parry Nickerson was flagged for running into the kicker.
Carlson went on to squander his second chance, though, missing the 45-yard attempt wide left as well, giving Jacksonville 1:44 left on the clock while down 16-13.
With a chance to make up for his early struggles, Minshew was given the ball with no timeouts and asked to drive down the field. He did just that, going 5-for-6 for 48 yards and the game-winning touchdown, a four-yard pass to Chris Conley, in about 70 seconds. Minshew also had a big eight-yard scramble for a first down, giving Jacksonville everything he had to pull out the win.
Along with Minshew, Conley and running back Leonard Fournette also came up huge down the stretch. Fournette caught two passes for 15 yards on the game-winning drive. He ended the game with only 15 carries for 42 yards, but a majority of that production came in the second half.
As for Conley, he took the whole of go-to receiver with No. 1 wide receiver DJ Chark out with an injury. Conley caught each of Jacksonville's touchdown passes and finished the game with four catches for 49 yards, including a massive 21-yard gain on the final drive.
Jacksonville's defense was a major factor in the 17-0 second half as well, shutting out Oakland after the first half and having its best outing since Week 8, the last time they held an opponent to under 17 points.
After Williams' first quarter touchdown, Oakland failed to find the end zone again. Jacksonville hounded Raiders' quarterback Derek Carr, sacking him four times and holding him to 267 passing yards on 36 attempts.
The leader of Jacksonville's defensive effort was fourth-year defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who turned in one of his better performances of the season. Ngakoue sacked Carr two times and totaled four tackles for loss. Joining Ngakoue in registering sacks where linebacker Austin Calitro and rookie defensive end Josh Allen, who gained his 10th sack of the season.
For Jacksonville, the win gives them a morale boost in a season that had gone sideways. Too often this season, specifically in the last five weeks before Sunday, Jacksonville had fallen apart at the seams when faced with adversity. But in Week 15, they faced adversity dead in the eye on the same day Adam Schefter of ESPN reported their coach would likely be fired, and they came out alive on the other side.
Raiders fans reacted with heavy emotions to the heartbreaking final loss in Oakland. Meanwhile, Jaguars' players were able to finally say they did the one thing they have failed to do for almost 50 days: Just win baby.
