Jaguars escape with a win as Saints drop potential game-tying TD in end zone
Trevor Lawrence was iffy to play Thursday. Maybe there was a little limp in his gait, but you couldn't tell the Jaguars quarterback was hurt.
It wasn't the prettiest game for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they'll happily take their 5-2 record and extra rest back to Florida with them. They got some help from some New Orleans Saints blunders, including a big one at the end.
Lawrence, playing on a sprained knee suffered Sunday, hit Christian Kirk for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:08 left, and the Jaguars' defense got one stop inside the 10-yard line in the final minute. It almost went to overtime, or perhaps to a two-point conversion by the Saints with the game on the line.
The Saints seemingly had a game-tying touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining, but tight end Foster Moreau dropped a sure touchdown that hit his hands. On the next play, a fourth-down pass was broken up, and the Jaguars escaped with a 31-24 win.
FOSTER MOREAU WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE 🙆♂️pic.twitter.com/AAVq3tyaAP
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) October 20, 2023
It was a brutal drop, but it was far from the only mistake of the night for the Saints.
Saints fans frustrated in 1st half
The boos from Saints fans got louder as the first half went on, and they were justified. Everything was bad. The offense was miserable in the red zone, and their only playcall seemed to be dump-offs to Alvin Kamara. Carr's first-half passing chart was sad.
Derek Carr's first-half passing chart pic.twitter.com/uPnWrdWZCr
— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) October 20, 2023
The defense let the Jaguars go right downfield on the first drive for a touchdown, then didn't offer much resistance on Travis Etienne Jr.'s second touchdown of the game, a 17-yarder. The special teams had a missed field goal and a 28-yard punt and allowed a fake punt for a first down in the final two minutes before halftime. The coaching staff made some odd decisions, such as going for it on a fourth-and-2 from the Jaguars' 44-yard line but punting on fourth-and-3 from the 46-yard line a few minutes later.
The second half started a little better, but that didn't last long. A pass over the middle into coverage was deflected to Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, who returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Jaguars a 24-9 lead.
The Saints weren't out of the game down just 15 points, but nobody at the Superdome could've had any confidence in Carr leading a comeback. Except he did.
Saints tie it
The Saints somehow were still in the game in the fourth quarter. Taysom Hill scored on a fourth-and-goal run early in the fourth quarter. That cut the Jaguars' lead to eight points. The Saints got a couple of huge stops, including one on a fourth-and-inches run by Etienne. Then Carr made his first great play of the game, hitting Michael Thomas in the end zone. Thomas did a fantastic job getting his leg down in bounds for the touchdown. Kamara scored the two-point conversion when Hill screened his defender on an inside route and Kamara was wide-open in the end zone. That tied the game at 24-24.
The Saints' defense kept getting stops, but New Orleans' offense didn't take advantage in a tie game. The Saints went three-and-out, then another bad punt gave the Jaguars great field position at New Orleans' 46-yard line with 3:45 to go. Lawrence hit Kirk on a short crossing pattern, and Kirk took it 44 yards for a score. The Saints' defense had played very well in the second half to that point, but their first big mistake was costly. The Jaguars led 31-24. Lawrence had a solid game, considering his injury. He even rushed for 59 yards.
There was plenty of time for the Saints to rally after Kirk's touchdown. Kamara kept gaining yards, and pretty soon the Saints were in the red zone in the final two minutes. A third-down run by Kamara picked up a first down to the 6-yard line. Then Carr threw incomplete on first and second down with 30 seconds left. On third down, the Saints called the perfect play, and Carr made a great pass to the end zone. Moreau was wide open, but he just dropped it. Moreau has a great, inspirational story, as he came back from cancer to play this season, but it was a tough play.
The Jaguars weren't dominant Thursday, but they did get the win with an injured quarterback. They'll take it, no matter how it came.
