JACKSONVILLE – Victory Monday O-Zone.
Let's get to it …
Biff from Jacksonville
Wow! Just wow! All the injuries on both sides of the ball, but we find a way to win. Too many won't put this in context and grind on the negative. But the reasonable know.
The Jaguars beat the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-29, in overtime at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., Sunday – and your context is the correct one. The Jaguars were a beat-up team entering Sunday and they were a more beat-up team after defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton secured a wild victory by batting down Raiders quarterback Geno Smith's two-point pass with :16 remaining in overtime. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence played through sickness. The Jaguars entered the game without injured wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter, linebacker Devin Lloyd and safety Eric Murray. They finished it without wide receiver Dyami Brown, guard Ezra Cleveland, cornerback Jourdan Lewis and defensive end Travon Walker. They also finished it with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in and out of the game with an ankle issue. Lawrence played gutsy and made huge plays throughout the second half and overtime. The Jaguars' running game gained strength throughout that same half. The Jaguars were gutty throughout and were rewarded late. This wasn't close to perfect. Naysayers will find flaws and they will be right about what they find. But professional football is about winning and the Jaguars won Sunday. They have, in fact, won five of the eight games they have played this season. They're right in the playoff race, and only a game and half behind the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts with two games remaining against those Colts. That's all the context you need.
Fred from Naples, FL
A day for the record books. Congratulations to Josh Hines-Allen and Cam Little.
Good eye. Jaguars kicker Cam Little's 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half Sunday broke the NFL record for longest field goal by two yards, surpassing former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker's 66-yard field goal in 2021. Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen registered 1.5 sacks Sunday and is now tied with former Jaguars defensive end Tony Brackens for the franchise career sacks lead with 55. A good day for a couple of decent guys.
Hill from Chandler, AZ
NFL overtime rules are beyond broken. Let's just give every team the Lombardi Trophy. I don't feel good about this outcome, and I don't know why I continue to watch this garbage. Sure, it's cool that the Jags are 5-3, but I have such a disgusting taste in my mouth from this game it makes me sick.
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee or Spidey sense – tells me Hill isn't crazy about the NFL's overtime rules. My Scooby Sense is very reliable on these things.
James from Orange Park, FL
The Raiders are cursed.
At least it's not the Jaguars.
Kevin from St Johns
Some time you win ugly … nothing more, nothing less.
It absolutely doesn't matter how you win in the NFL. You win in the circumstances you face, move on to the next week and try to win in the circumstances you face the next week. You hope you win enough games doing that to get into the postseason, then you hope you're healthy enough with the right matchups to keep winning. There are exceptions to this with occasional great teams. The Jaguars aren't great yet, but they're good enough to be 5-3 and that's better than a lot of teams right now.
Anthony from Pittsburgh, PA
A win is a win, and this win put the Jags in the No. 7 seed wildcard spot. My question is, we got beat tonight by one man on a pretty mediocre team. So how do we expect to beat 53 men on a good team? Do you think there is a chance that in the next two days before the trade deadline they will possibly attempt to try to bolster the secondary and possibly sign a wide receiver? The pass rush looked decent Sunday. Even though they didn't get very many sacks, the pressure was noticeable.
Stay tuned.
John from Merritt Island, FL
Etienne was a BEAST. Lawrence, very solid. Our D very good. Hines-Allen an absolute beast!!! Anybody who questions him should probably pick another team. He was lights out!!!
Running back Travis Etienne Jr. from this view had perhaps his best game with the Jaguars Sunday – not in terms of total yards, but in terms of getting tough and important yards when they were absolutely needed. He was impressive on many levels throughout the game. Lawrence was damned gutsy and played after throwing up throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning. Hines-Allen, as he had done much of the season, was disruptive and intense – and is absolutely a worthy team leader. This was the sort of game in which you need veteran leaders to play big. Those three were huge Sunday.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. Wow! Game ball to ETN. Part human … part machine.
Etienne rushed for 84 yards on 22 carries. He caught five passes for 31 yards. He ran tough and produced when the Jaguars needed it. Game ball? Absolutely.
Ryan from Reality
Why is this team so bad at short yardage? All the time. Every year. We can't ever get __ &1.
Lawrence's game-winning touchdown Sunday came on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Adrian from Reading
Do good teams win close games?
Absolutely.
Bruce from St. Simons Island, GA
O, Good and gritty win! Do you think they will continue to win with all the injuries?
The Jaguars have played tough, gritty and gutty in all but one game this season – a one-sided loss to the Los Angeles Rams. I expect they will continue to play that way – in large part because I believe these players believe in the direction of this franchise under Head Coach Liam Coen. This team also is injured enough that the injuries almost certainly will limit some of their effectiveness in the coming weeks – as they have for the last three or four games. I think they will win some of their next few games and I doubt they will go undefeated in those games. This doesn't seem right now like a team on the verge of a long winning streak. But it does seem like a team that can be competitive and win enough games to compete for the postseason.
Bob from Weaverville, NC
Winning is fun O man! We like it.
Damn right.
Jonathon from Jacksonville
WHAT A STOP BY THE JAGUARS DEFENSE AT THE END OF THE GAME!!!!!
What a difference a play makes. The Jaguars' defense throughout Sunday's game – particularly in the second half – routinely failed to stop Smith and tight end Brock Bowers. They failed to do this on the second-to-last play of the game, with Smith's 2-yard touchdown pass to Bowers pulling the Raiders to within the final margin. Hamilton batted down Smith's pass in incredibly clutch and timely fashion, securing the victory and prompting a lot of EXCLAMATION POINTS AND CAPITAL LETTERS because winning is better than losing and ain't it wonderful being a Jaguars fan on this glorious November morn.
JT from Palm Coast, FL
We all know what a bad football team looks like. We have been fans of this team long enough to know that. For some reason, you are never at the same party as we are. Win or lose, this season's Jags are a bad football team. Can't consistently do what we do and see anything different. How can you explain otherwise?
The 5-3 record, for starters.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. You were so lucky not to watch the telecast. The announcers were gushing on a few of the Raiders players while mostly ho hum on the Jags players. It was so one-sided.
It's always announcing in the NFL.
Ryan from Maine
I didn't know the suplex was illegal in the NFL. Throwing a punch certainly is, though. Shame on you, Travon. The discipline still seems to be an issue and the penalties need to stop but how bout one fer Cam Little? Awesome. That was a much needed win. Go jags!
Walker indeed on Sunday was ejected for punching Raiders offensive tackle Stone Forsythe after a Raiders field goal in the third quarter. Both players received unnecessary roughness penalties. Walker was retaliating and was ejected – and you're right that that's something Walker can't do. As for Little's record-setter … yes, one fer Little. No doubt.
Cliff from Jville
It's time for the Lawrence experiment to end. We will NEVER get to a Super Bowl with his poor decision making and subpar quarterback play. I have been his biggest fan since he came here and I burned my No. 16 jersey today. I'm ashamed to be a Jags fan. What do you think of that, O?
Ya do what ya gotta do, I guess.
Bryan from Lutz
Hey, we won!
Damn right.
