Zach Wilson disappointed once more as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets – and was put back on the bench. In poor weather, Trevor Lawrence and his Jacksonville Jaguars adapted better to the conditions and played the game down solidly.
Jets vs Jaguars: At a Glance
- The Jets started hopefully with a field goal following strong defensive play from Quinnen Williams, who was doubtful with an injury until just before the game.
- But because the Jets offense didn’t work at all otherwise and the defense mightn’t stop the Jaguars’ short plays, Jacksonville consistently scored one field goal following the other.
- A long drive by the Jaguars even ended with a touchdown jump by Trevor Lawrence.
- Zach Wilson was penalized once more – Chris Streveler took over and led the Jets neatly across the field, but he didn’t score any points either.
- The Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs early with the Jets’ defeat.
New York Jets vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Die Analyse
The game started immediately with impressive defensive performances. Quinnen Williams got hold of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and snatched the ball from him in the third play. Because Jets colleague Carl Lawson got the ball first, possession changed. But the New York Jets didn’t move either. They moved the ball just five yards in two plays before Zach Wilson was blitzed and sacked by safety Andre Cisco. Because they got the ball close to the Jaguars endzone, the Jets took the field goal.
Then the Jaguars moved the ball a little better. Travis Etienne’s run and short passes from Trevor Lawrence created space. But because the quarterback clearly overthrew receiver Christian Kirk on the third try, they too had to settle for a field goal.
Because the Jets still didn’t click much, they had to punt following just one first down. The Jaguars got the ball at their own 4-yard line and started a long drive into the second quarter. Again, runs and short passes were the way to consistently get the ball forward. Along with a deep pass to tight end Dan Arnold, the Jaguars got to the Jets 1-yard line, from which quarterback Larence vaulted the ball down his offensive line himself to the end zone – touchdown, 3:10.
Zach Wilson then tried short passes to his playmaker. That actually worked well, but following two first downs he wanted too much on a second try and 21 yards to go and threw a deep pass that should have ended in an interception. Receiver Corey Davis defended well enough, but they mightn’t get a new first down.
A screen play over Engram gave the Jaguars a massive 36 yards, but that was all they might do and the Jaguars scored a field goal. The Jets punted quickly. The Jaguars were once more able to get past a single play by Travis Etienne (22 yards), but this time Riley Patterson’s field goal attempt missed the target. With 25 seconds left, the Jets looked to get back on the scoreboard, but three weak plays were followed by a Hail Mary interception from Zach Wilson as the clock ran out. Massive boos from Jets fans followed at half-time.
Zach Wilson gives once more – it doesn’t get any better
But things didn’t go any better for the Jets in the second half either. A short pass and run was followed by another weak throw from Zach Wilson on the third try and one yard go, which was closer to interception than completion. The Jaguars then moved the ball efficiently once more using short plays and a big play by Engram (23 yards). It was then once more in the field goal range and they scored three points.
Then followed 3 & outs for both teams and the cut at New York: Zach Wilson was put on the bench, Chris Streveler took over as quarterback for the Jets. In addition to many quarterback runs, it was mainly the receivers who saved balls that were thrown improperly. CJ Uzomah would have been free for a touchdown, then caught a subdued ball for 30 yards. The Jets moved into the red zone, but then the Jaguars defense found access. A strong Garrett-Wilson catch initially saved on the first fourth try. But the Jets mightn’t convert the second one, so they left the field once more without points.
The Jets defense then adapted better to the Jaguars’ short plays and sent them off the field. However, a strong punt got the Jets and Streveler starting at the 1-yard line. A difficult task in which Streveler was only able to avoid a safety by a hair’s breadth. A penalty gave the Jets some space. The Jets went all in and played a fourth try at two yards at their own 28-yard line. They were also initially rewarded because G. Wilson caught a pass for nine yards. But Jaguars linebacker Foyesafe Oluokun’s foot caused a fumble that the Jaguars captured.
Jacksonville failed to kick once more, moving the ball just five yards in three plays. But the good starting position brought the fifth field goal attempt of the evening, which increased to 3:19. The Jets tried once more, but once more, following gaining some ground, they failed at a fourth try of their own. The Jaguars took the ball and knelt until time ran out.
New York Jets (7-8) – Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
Result: 3:19 (3:3, 0:10, 0:3, 0:3) BOXSCORE
Jets vs. Jaguars – the most important statistics
- Zero – The New York Jets scored zero points on offense. The field goal in the first drive resulted from a won fumble by the defense. The offense only gained four yards of space.
- 144 of the New York Jets’ 227 offensive yards were scored by Chris Streveler. 90 yards on passes, 54 yards on own running game. No Jets player has gained more individual space than Streveler’s 54 rushing yards.
- After a weak first drive with a strip sack, the Jaguars’ offensive line stabilized and only allowed pressure on 15.6 percent of the passes – no team managed a lower value once morest the Jets.
- Chris Streveler completed ten of his 15 passes. With 66.7 percent passing, he had the best rate of all three quarterbacks of the night.
- The Jaguars adapted to the weather conditions and threw the ball relatively little. They ran the ball 36 times, Lawrence only grabbed the ball 31 times.
The star of the game: Evan Engram
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense was unproductive. Above all, there was little regarding the passing game. But Engram gained a lot of space with a few yards following catching the pass. He caught seven of his eight targets and rushed for 113 yards. That’s more than half of the Jaguars’ 218 passing yards.
The flop of the game: Zach Wilson
After Zach Wilson lost his starting quarterback spot mainly due to a lack of maturity, he got his team back due to injury. But he mightn’t use this chance once more and lost the place to Chris Streveler. A quarterback who last had success in the CFL in 2019. With 9/18 passes for 92 yards and a (Hail Mary) interception, Wilson disappointed across the board. A quarterback rating of 41.9 underscores poor performance. Again and once more he tried to play hero ball and throw deep passes that didn’t work. He mightn’t find his short receivers.
Analysis: Jets vs. Jaguars – the tactics board
- The Jacksonville Jaguars consistently used short passes, also due to the poor weather conditions. In the second and third quarters, Trevor Lawrence averaged just 1.91 yards at target.
- But it worked because receivers rushed for yards following the catch, led by Evan Engram. With 16/21 short passes for 198 yards, Lawrence had a career-high 9.4 yards per attempt.
- In addition, they added a lot of running game. Travis Etienne was allowed to run 22 times, gaining 83 yards. Lawrence’s scrambles were particularly effective: seven runs for 51 yards and one touchdown.
- The New York Jets found no way to crack the Jaguars defense, which was actually not very dominant. A few short passes worked because the Jaguars gave them space, but Zach Wilson rarely took the easy route. With the switch to Chris Streveler, the tactics shifted towards quarterback runs and short passes, which worked much better.
