Jaguars, the NFL's last winless team, sneak past Colts after nearly blowing late 14-point lead
It took a 49-yard field goal after they nearly handed the game over to the Indianapolis Colts down the stretch, but Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars are finally on the board with a victory.
The Jaguars, after starting the season with four straight losses, snuck out a 37-34 win over the Colts on Sunday afternoon at EverBank Stadium. Rookie kicker Cam Little hit a 49-yard, game-winning field goal with 17 seconds left.
Kickin' Little gives the @Jaguars the lead with 17 seconds!
📺: #INDvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/MkG9p3QITy— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
While that moves the Jaguars to only 1-4 on the year, and they have a long way to go to salvage the season, the Jaguars’ win now means that every team in the NFL has won a game this fall.
For most of the game on Sunday afternoon, the Jaguars were a step ahead of the Colts. They jumped ahead after a deep 85-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to rookie Brian Thomas Jr. in the second quarter, and then pushed their lead to 14 points in the fourth quarter after a 4-yard toss to Brenton Strange and a 65-yard touchdown run from Tank Bigsby.
Bigsby’s run came with 5:09 left in the game, which should have sealed Jacksonville's win there.
But that’s when Joe Flacco — who is starting in place of the injured Anthony Richardson — nearly led the Colts to the win. He mounted a quick three-play touchdown drive with two deep passes to Alec Pierce to cut the game to a single touchdown.
The Colts then forced a three-and-out after Lawrence threw two incomplete passes, and the Jaguars had to punt after just 62 seconds. That gave Indianapolis the ball back and set up a 65-yard touchdown pass to Pierce to tie the game up.
Their 14 points came in a span of five plays and 87 seconds.
Despite that, Lawrence marched the Jaguars down the field to set up Little's game-winning field goal.
Flacco went 33-of-44 for 359 yards with three touchdowns in the loss for the Colts, who now sit at 2-3 on the season. Pierce had 134 yards and a touchdown on three catches, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Trey Sermon led them on the ground with 38 yards and a score on 10 carries.
Lawrence went 28-of-34 for 371 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Jaguars, who have now won their first game since Nov. 26 of last season. Sunday was Lawrence's 25th birthday.
Bigsby ran for 101 yards and two scores on 13 carries, and Thomas had 122 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
Outside of a blowout 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, the Jaguars have been relatively close in every game this season. They fell to the Miami Dolphins by three points in their season opener, and they were within striking distance before Lawrence gave up a safety in the final minutes of their five-point loss to the Cleveland Browns. Last week, C.J. Stroud mounted a game-winning drive and threw a touchdown pass with 18 seconds left to lead the Texans past the Jaguars.
Those defeats led Jacksonville to its sixth 0-4 start in history, and its first since 2021.
The Jaguars will take on the Chicago Bears next week at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which marks the first of their back-to-back games in the city. Wins there will be critical for Jacksonville if it is going to rally to make the postseason. Only one other team in NFL history, the 1992 San Diego Chargers, pulled that off after an 0-4 start.
But hey, the Jaguars have finally won a game. That’s the first step.
