Jaguars lead Jets after first half of rainy TNF
Published
In a rainy and gusty night in New York, the Jacksonville Jaguars lead the Jets 13-3 after one half on Thursday Night Football.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 147 yards on 11 of 16 passing for the Jaguars, and scored the lone touchdown of the game on a QB sneak from one yard out.
Zach Wilson completed six-of-11 passes for the Jets, which went for 79 yards. Lawrence, the first overall pick in last year's NFL draft, had the upper hand over Wilson, selected second, in the first half in a battle of the top two picks.
Evan Engram caught five passes for 83 yards for the Jaguars, and Travis Etienne ran for 64 yards on 17 carries.
A quick final drive for Jacksonville ended with a Riley Patterson field goal try from 44 yards that sailed just left.
As was the case with most of the half, the Jets offence could not get anything meaningful in the dreary weather conditions.
The Jaguars attempted their second field goal of the game late in the second quarter after another long drive fizzled, and Patterson drilled it from 45 yards.
Penalties were holding the Jets offence back through the first half, as consecutive drives were stalled by pre-snap penalties that made third-down tries too long to overcome.
After a great punt pinned the Jaguars offence at their own four-yard line, they put together a strong, efficient drive that was capped off after 16 plays with a QB sneak by Lawrence for a touchdown which gave them a 10-3 lead.
Engram was featured early for the Jaguars, as he caught the first two passes of the game thrown by Lawrence to energize their second possession. The ground game made some progress, but the drive fizzled and forced a field goal try for Patterson, who hit from 32 yards.
Quinnen Williams, who missed the previous game with a calf injury, returned in a huge way on the opening drive of the game for the Jets - his sack on Lawrence, his 12th of the season, caused a fumble that the Jets recovered to take immediate control of the field position game.
The Jaguars defence stood tall and forced a Jets field goal try after three plays. Greg Zuerlein struck true from 37 yards to give New York a 3-0 lead early.