JACKSONVILLE - A 50-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Parker Washington late in the first half, paired with three turnovers forced by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense, powered a 33-10 rout of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9.
The decisive play came with 1:06 remaining in the second half on second-and-8 from the 50-yard line. Lawrence read a zero blitz, fired quickly to Washington in the slot, and Washington outraced the Ravens’ defense to the end zone to push Jacksonville’s lead to 17-3 at halftime. “That was a running-clock, two-minute four verticals where they went to a running-clock blitz - zero blitz - and Parker and Trevor diagnosed it very early on in the down,” Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said. “Parker widened the safety out pretty good and then stuck his foot in the ground, cross-face, [and it was a] perfect ball. It was just really good two-minute detail, two-minute execution.”
Lawrence completed 16 of 26 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Washington finished with two catches for 61 yards. “That was one where it was cover zero, so we got to the protection check, and Parker had a seam, and he just cross-faced on the cover zero safety there and made a great play,” Lawrence said. “I saw what he was going to do, so I let it go early, and he did a great job winning the route and then taking it to the house.”
The Jaguars’ defense, which has been among the NFL’s best forcing takeaways in two seasons under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, delivered three turnovers against Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano in his first career start. Cornerback Montaric Brown intercepted Fagnano on the first third down of the second half, giving Jacksonville possession at the Ravens’ 26-yard line and setting up a 45-yard field goal by Cam Little to make it 20-3. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis then intercepted Fagnano a quarter later, giving the Jaguars the ball at the Ravens’ 23 and leading to a 33-yard Little field goal for a 26-3 lead with 13:35 remaining. “I was just anticipating what they like to do with [wide receiver] Zay Flowers in the backfield, understanding his route tree back there and taking advantage of a bad throw,” Lewis said. “It was the perfect storm of things: understanding, anticipating, and then I got the throw that I was looking for - low and inside.”
Second-year linebacker Jalen McLeod forced and recovered the ensuing kickoff, setting up the Jaguars’ final score - a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun recorded a sack for a second consecutive week, this one on third-and-9 from the Ravens’ 45-yard line early in the second quarter. Baltimore converted just 4 of 14 third downs, a 29 percent rate, and was stopped on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak late in the third quarter.
Rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher set the tone on Jacksonville’s opening drive, hauling in a 52-yard pass from Lawrence on second-and-6 from the Jaguars’ 27 - the longest play of the game. The Jaguars deployed 12 and 13 personnel extensively on that drive, using two and three tight ends. “[It was] like a weird Cover 2 look,” Lawrence said of the play. Coen added, “I’m kind of yelling at [Lawrence] to run out of bounds, and he just finds ‘Boerk.’” Running back Bhayshul Tuten capped the seven-play, 77-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Jacksonville a 7-0 lead with 11:20 remaining in the first quarter. The reception was Boerkircher’s third impact play in as many games, following a one-handed red-zone touchdown against Houston in Week 6 and a 31-yard scoring catch in last week’s 42-7 win over Indianapolis.