Inside the Jaguars' Failed Late Game Decision-Making vs. the Giants

The story of the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the New York Giants wasn't a new one. On most Sundays in the NFL, the team that wins is the one that hurts itself the least. And yet again, the Jaguars proved to be the mistake-prone team.

This showed up on several occasions throughout the game, whether with Travis Etienne's fumble at the five-yard line, a missed touchdown throw from Trevor Lawrence to Zay Jones or a negated interception due to a roughing the passer penalty that led to a Giants field goal.

But perhaps the sequence that hurt the Jaguars the most came in the fourth quarter. On 2nd-and-6 from the Giants' 26-yard line with 13:12 left in the game, the Jaguars ran a reverse to wide receiver Christian Kirk. Kirk looked like he had the first down with a six-yard gain ... until he didn't.

Instead, the Jaguars were ruled a yard short. And then the chaos began.

"Well, initially we thought on our sideline we got the first down. We're preparing for, obviously, getting the call in for first down," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. "Then, you know, through all of that I think trying to sort things out, where the ball was, different things.

"But, again, naked eye, we thought -- I think it was Christian was well past the down marker. But, look, we've got to check it out tomorrow try to sort through all that before we make a decision on anything."

There was a legitimate argument to be made for Pederson to throw the red challenge flag. It looked like a genuinely poor spot from the officials, and Kirk even noted after the game he believed he had the first.

"Then, you know, through all of that I think trying to sort things out, where the ball was, different things. Then it came up third down. So, we had to switch gears there. We've got to sort it out, obviously," Pederson said.

"We have to figure it out tomorrow. Go back, watch TV copy, and all that. That right there, you know, I don't think cost us the game, but it was definitely a big part of it."

But instead of attempting to get the fresh set of downs via a challenge, Pederson went with a somewhat conservative call and held onto his challenge flag. As he explained after the game, the largest factor going into the decision was the fact that the Jaguars would be facing just 3rd-and-short in four-down territory.

"Yeah, that and, again, we were under the impression it was first down, but it wasn't. Again, those are situations, too, where do you want to risk a challenge, a time-out in those situations where you know it's going to -- at least it's going to be at worst it's going to be 3rd -and-1 or 3rd and a couple of inches. Try to get the first down that way," Pederson said.

But after an Etienne run was stuffed on 3rd-and-short, the Jaguars faced a key decision. Would they go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 20, or would they kick a field goal to take a 20-13 lead?

Knowing Pederson's tendency to go for it on fourth-down, it isn't a surprise what he opted for. With the Jaguars averaging 6.8 yards per rush on the day, Pederson kept his offense on the field and attempted a quarterback sneak to get the one key yard.

The issue? The Jaguars couldn't get the yard. The Giants completely stuffed Lawrence, taking all momentum back from the Jaguars before eventually marching for a touchdown to take the lead -- a lead that would have been a tie if the Jaguars had kicked the field goal.

"Yeah, we were having really a lot of success on the ground. And it was a great situation right there to do that. Credit the Giants, they stopped us," Pederson said.

"I think hindsight is 20/20, and we can sit here right now and say, hey, kick the field goal. When you're in the game and your offensive line is handling them the way we did, I put it on them to do that. That had nothing to do with an analytical decision right there. It was more about how we were running the football at the time and felt really good about where we were."

Pederson and his staff weren't the only ones confused by the placement on Kirk's carry. Lawrence said after the game that it was unclear what exactly the operations were by the officials on the play.

But, Lawrence said, the Jaguars still had two chances to get a yard. And that is where they failed and ultimately lost.

"Yeah, there was a lot of stuff going on there. Obviously, the play clock was running, but the ball hadn't been spotted yet. We thought it was the first

down. So, the clock was running, but then the chains haven't been moved, but the ball also hadn't been spotted," Lawrence said. "So, we weren't really sure what was going on. Then they marked it short, so then we kind of had to adjust from there. They pumped the play clock up for us, so they gave us a new play clock, so that was fine. Even there, it's like, regardless of the opinions of where the spot was, it's second and inches. We've got to find a way to get a yard there. We had three opportunities and didn't do it—or whatever, sorry, it was third down, I guess, there. We had two opportunities and didn't do it.

"So that's, obviously, you're kind of kicking yourself over that because that was a big play in the game where we didn't end up getting any points, and we were down inside the 30 or wherever we were. That's one of the plays you’re talking about. Making that play or whatever it is, we have to find ways to make those and turn these games around and start being on the other side of them."

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