Live Updates From Jaguars-Saints Week 7 Game

The Saints have won four straight against the Jaguars. Can they keep that streak going and pick up a much needed win on Thursday Night Football?

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints and Jaguars aren't too far away from kicking Week 7 action off from inside the Superdome on Thursday Night Football. Jacksonville has had a strong start to the season at 4-2, while New Orleans sits at 3-3 when they could easily be better than what their record says. Regardless, this is a big game for Dennis Allen and company, as a win going into a mini-bye would go a long way.

Welcome to our Week 7 game thread, where you'll find all the notes, observations, and updates from tonight's game.

Pregame Notes

• Demario Davis being active is a very encouraging sign. He's wearing a large brace on his right knee. Jaylon Smith might be insurance tonight. 
• No surprises here for the Saints O-Line. Left to right: Andrus Peat, Max Garcia, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Cam Erving. This is what we've been hinting at for days.
• Players told me this week that they were more than ready to get back out on the field after the loss to the Texans. This could be a really good night to rebound.
• The theme tonight sees to be taking care of business. We'll have to see how New Orleans is able to start tonight. That's going to go a long way if they can put drives together early and cash in some points.
• Saints offense introduced tonight. The pressure is on them.
• Malcolm Jenkins is in the house. He just released a book called What Winners Won't Tell You, and it's a fantastic read. I'm certainly not a reader, but this one hooked me and I finished it in two days.
• The Saints won the toss and they opted to defer to the second half kickoff. Let's hope the defense sets the tone for tonight.

First Quarter - Jaguars 7, Saints 3

Scoring

• Jaguars, 9:44 - Travis Etienne 2-yard touchdown run. (10-75, 5:16)
• Saints, 1:26 - Blake Grupe 23-yard field goal. (6-12, 2:10)

Notes

• Demario Davis does indeed start, and he made the first tackle of the game for no gain.
• Evan Engram could be an interesting matchup problem tonight. He had a nice catch and run to start. That was followed up by a nice screen play to Travis Etienne.
• We're seeing Trevor Lawrence in shotgun a lot to start. That should take some pressure off of his injury.
• Alontae Taylor got hurt on the first drive trying to dive for Trevor Lawrence on the run. Taylor returned to the sideline shortly after the Jags touchdown. The official word was a nose laceration, but he's back out there.
• We didn't see Demario Davis in on a 3rd Down play. That's the first time I've seen that in quite a bit.
• The Jaguars did whatever they wanted to on the first offensive series. The Saints defense had a really sluggish first half against the Texans. Let's hope that doesn't continue.
• Much like last week's offense, getting Alvin Kamara involved early and often was good to see.
• Derek Carr taking off and putting some jukes on was pretty cool to see. He doesn't do it a lot, but it was the right decision.
• Chris Olave's first reception had some nice YAC, making a great individual effort to get a Saints first down.
• Blake Grupe missed another field goal, this time from 51 and it was wide right. New Orleans can't afford any miscues, and so far they've got them on both sides of the ball.
• Really nice job by the Saints defense to get the ball back, as Paulson Adebo stripped Christian Kirk after he made a nice catch to get into Saints territory. He got back up and Adebo stripped it. Carl Granderson recovered. Sadly, the Saints offense ran a three-and-out.
• This game took another crazy turn to give the Saints a gift. The ensuing punt saw one of the Jaguars player get blocked into Jamal Agnew for friendly fire, and they recovered at the 17-yard-line. Here we go with the red zone.
• Nicely run screen play with Alvin Kamara to get a first down. Max Garcia blew up his defender and Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz were out front.
• Unfortunately, the red zone struggles continue. They're 7/20 now.

Second Quarter - Jaguars 17, Saints 6

Scoring

• Jaguars, 13:09 - Travis Etienne 17-yard touchdown run. (7-75, 3:17)
• Saints, 1:57 - Blake Grupe 35-yard field goal. (8-29, 3:44)
• Jaguars, 0:32 - Brandon McManus 43-yard field goal. (10-50, 1:25)

Notes

• The defense had a very uninspiring drive to counter. The Jaguars are moving the ball with ease and doing it by getting to the outside quicker and making it happen. That Trevor Lawrence scramble was just maddening after not getting home with pressure.
• I like seeing Foster Moreau getting more involved in the passing game. It was a nice hookup for 18 yards.
• The Saints had a 3rd-and-2 and took a deep shot. Then on 4th-and-2, they had offensive pass interference and the pass was tipped by the Jags defender.
• Nice defensive series following the failed offensive drive. Cam Jordan got a tipped pass at the line after Malcolm Roach make a nice run stop. The Saints sent a lot of pressure on 3rd Down and it didn't get home, but it forced a quick throw by Lawrence.
• Really nice hookup to Alvin Kamara to start the drive. Just a simple dump off and he does the rest to pick up 21.
• The maddening part of the sequence is that after a positive play like Kamara's, they follow it up with a run loss. Thankfully, an unnecessary roughness call gave them 15 free yards, but again the drive stalled.
• Two straight defensive drives that the Saints have looked better. Dare I say that they've settled in.
• Another special teams blunder by the Jags saw them commit interference on the Rashid Shaheed fair catch call. New Orleans keeps getting gifts and they have to do something with it.
• After every negative or short play, the Saints fans are booing with a vengeance. I haven't heard it this bad in ever.
• Alvin Kamara got a very much-needed 4th Down conversion to keep the Saints drive going. They need to cash in a touchdown.
• The offense isn't doing much of anything. It's increasingly painful to watch. They moved the ball last week and have done so some tonight, but they are just wildly inconsistent.
• The Jaguars hit over 200 yards of offense in the first half right after the two-minute warning.
• Excellent job by the Jags to dial up a fake punt on 4th-and-2. It completely caught New Orleans off guard. 
• Outstanding effort by Marshon Lattimore to get the pick on Trevor Lawrence to shut them down before the half, but after further review it was deemed incomplete.
• The Saints are 1/8 on 3rd Down. Things are just as bad as you'd expect right now. I don't know what is going to fix this team at this moment, but it's really tough seeing this many boo birds.

Third Quarter - Jaguars 24, Saints 9

Scoring

• Saints, 9:49 - Blake Grupe 42-yard field goal. (11-52, 5:11)
• Jaguars, 6:47 - Foyesade Oluokun 24-yard interception return.

Notes

• Nice start to the quarter with Carr finding Chris Olave for 14.
• Another 4th Down where the Saints stay on the field, and it succeeded in a big way with Kamara picking up 17. Just chip away and get it going.
• Going to Taysom Hill in short yardage works. We keep waiting for stuff like that to happen and be consistent.
• The holding call by Andrus Peat took the offense from the 23 to the 33-yard-line. 
• We saw another instance where the receiver and the quarterback were not on the same page. This time it was between Carr and Kamara.
• That was another good defensive series for the Saints. They really have settled in and are giving the offense a chance here. 
• Carr forced that throw to Shaheed and that's one of the reasons it was picked off and returned for a touchdown. When you think the offense has its lowest point, you see more.
• The Saints offense actually is putting together a drive here. Let's see if they can finish for once.
• The Jaguars are sending pressure on every single Derek Carr drop back it seems.
• Good play call running the ball with Kamara on 4th-and-2. You don't have to pass on every situation, and that was the right call.
• Interesting play call rolling in Trevor Penning at Jumbo and Khalen Saunders at fullback with Taysom Hill at QB. It worked and they later rolled him at fullback for a Kamara run.

Fourth Quarter - Jaguars 31, Saints 24

Scoring

• Saints, 14:21 - Taysom Hill 1-yard touchdown run. (16-75, 7:26)
• Saints, 6:38 - Michael Thomas 17-yard touchdown reception from Derek Carr. (3-53, 0:51), 2-point attempt good to Alvin Kamara.
• Jaguars, 3:08 - Christian Kirk 44-yard touchdown reception from Trevor Lawrence. (2-46, 0:37)

Notes

• Khalen Saunders is an animal blocking. Please keep injecting this into my veins.
• It took another 4th Down, but the Saints punched it in with Taysom Hill running the ball. New Orleans brought all the beef and there was some really good blocking.
• Malcolm Roach keeps making those nice run stops. New Orleans did another nice job on defense. They have really played well in the second half.
• So, the Saints offense returns the favor by running an uninspiring three-and-out. Derek Carr and Chris Olave weren't on the same page, and the broadcast showed Carr saying, 'What are you doing?' looking at Olave.
• Carl Granderson continues to shine each week, he made a really nice play to stop a gadget run play.
• Really strong tackle by Paulson Adebo on the 3rd-and-1 play to stop Travis Etienne for no gain. The Saints defense followed that up by stopping them on 4th Down to get the ball back.
• Good start to the ensuing drive with Carr hitting Michael Thomas for 17, and then following that up with Hill for 19 on a reception.
• Michael Thomas got into the end zone on a beautiful connection for 17 yards. That was one of the best executed drives I've seen in a bit.
• Trevor Lawrence has been a pain on the ground tonight. His escapes out of the pocket have led to 5 carries for 53 yards (12.6 average).
• Paulson Adebo turned the Jags away with a pass defense on a deep attempt to Calvin Ridley.
• Derek Carr got hurt on the 3rd Down play rolling out. He didn't go to the injury tent, but he was down on a knee after the play.
• That 39-yard punt by Lou Hedley was not good. At some point, he's got to be able to boot these. That's horrible field position when you line drive a kick with no hang time and allow a decent return.
• The defense finally gave in, allowing a really big play to Christian Kirk that went for 44 yards. That's not what they needed at all.
• Another good start to the Saints drive, as Carr hit Taysom Hill over the middle for 18.
• Really nice run by Alvin Kamara for 15 to get the Saints in the red zone. They made the Jaguars pay for sending the blitz.

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Week 7 Jaguars-Saints Coverage

• Jaguars vs. Saints Player Prop Bets, Spread Pick & Lines: Thursday, 10/19
• Can the 'Rubber Meet the Road' for the Saints Red Zone Offense?
• Saints Thursday Night History
• Saints Final Injury Report: Demario Davis a Game-Time Decision
• Saints Defensive Line Changeover A Non-Issue Through 6 Games
• Saints Hall Of Fame Quarterback Outlines Team's Troubles
• Getting to Know More About the Jaguars With John Shipley of Jaguar Report
• Saints Offensive Offense Needs to Show Life Against Jaguars
• Saints Defense Faces Off Against Multi-Faceted Jaguars Offense
• NFL Week 7: First Look at Jaguars vs. Saints