Story by
'One play at a time': The plays that led to the Jaguars' historic playoff comeback
- Story by
- 'One play at a time': The plays that led to the Jaguars' historic playoff comeback
Disaster struck during the Jaguars ' wild card game against the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend.
Everything that could have gone wrong, did.
Jacksonville turned the ball over five times during the first half, including four interceptions by quarterback Trevor Lawrence . The Jaguars became the only team in postseason history to win after going minus-five turnover differential.
Advertisement
Perhaps a perfect encapsulation of the team's first-half showing came during the Jaguars' final turnover of the day.
On a routine punt by the Chargers, punter JK Scott booted the football to the Jacksonville 25-yard line. But the ball bounced off of cornerback Chris Claybrooks ' helmet, resulting in a muffed punt that was ultimately recovered by Los Angeles, who was up 24-0 at the time.
More Jaguars coverage:
A quiet confidence: What the Jaguars learned from their Week 10 meeting with Kansas City
Frenette: Not easy for Chiefs — or anybody — to kill Jacksonville 'cockroaches'
Breakfast club: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence introduces teammates to delights of Waffle House
Advertisement
"Sometimes we make it hard because we make it hard on ourselves," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Monday. "Those are the things we're trying to kind of work through and grow through with this football team. It's just a matter of taking care of our business, and we've got to hang onto the football."
The Chargers scored a field goal off of Jacksonville's final turnover of the day. The final scoring drive for Los Angeles then resulted in the unlikely inflection point for the Jaguars throughout the remainder of the game.
But, at that point, everything changed.
Moments after disaster: Jaguars make key plays to propel turnaround
The Jaguars completed the third-best postseason comeback in NFL history, overcoming 27 points to defeat the Chargers 31-30 as kicker Riley Patterson 's 36-yard field goal flew through the uprights as time expired.
Advertisement
While the Patterson kick was a key play, many others stood out as the team mounted the comeback of a lifetime.
"As much as I'd like to say it went our way, I'd like to flip it the other way and say we executed better in the second half," Pederson said.
"Our guys, again, there was no panic, there was no pointing fingers. We just kept chipping away at what we needed to do, really. You look up at halftime, you've got 30 minutes of ball left. You're either going to win or you're going to lose. You're going to keep playing or you're going to go home. What else are you going to do?"
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (11) celebrates his touchdown reception score as wide receiver Zay Jones (7) greets him in the end zone during the third quarter of an NFL first round playoff football matchup Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Los Angeles Chargers on a field goal 31-30. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
The Jaguars pushed forward, one play at a time, to enable the comeback. Here are some of the top plays that ultimately decided the contest:
Advertisement
Play 1: Chargers fumble with 2:26 remaining in the first half
Trailing 27-0 just before halftime, the Jaguars caught their first break of the night. On third-and-1, the Chargers attempted a jet-sweep with receiver Michael Bandy, who was called up from the team's practice squad that weekend but fumbled the football, ultimately losing 10 yards.
The Chargers were forced to punt following the two-minute warning.
The Jaguars got the ball at the L.A. 47, quickly moving down the field to convert the drive into their first touchdown of the night, shrinking the Chargers' lead to 20 points — 27-7.
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) pulls in a pass for a touchdown late in the second quarter. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Los Angeles Chargers in their first round playoff game Saturday, January 14, 2023 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars trailed 27 to 7 at the half. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Play 2: Joey Bosa jumps offside
Advertisement
In the third quarter, the Jaguars mounted a drive to the Chargers' 19-yard line. On third-and-7, Lawrence dropped back to pass but was sacked for a 16-yard loss. However, Chargers defensive lineman Joey Bosa jumped offside on the play, negating the sack and giving Jacksonville another opportunity to convert and continue the drive.
The Jaguars converted the third down with a seven-yard run by Travis Etienne and continued to march down the field, scoring a touchdown instead of a field goal on the drive to make the game 27-14.
Play 3: Dicker misses 40-yard field goal
With the score 30-20, the Chargers had an opportunity to extend their lead to 13 with 8:51 remaining in the game. However, Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker missed the 40-yard attempt, giving Jacksonville the ball back.
Play 4: Chargers called for pass interference
Advertisement
On the Jaguars' ensuing drive following the missed field goal, Jacksonville had a second-and-19 from their own 21-yard line after Lawrence was sacked on first down.
Behind the sticks, the Jaguars attempted a short throw to receiver Marvin Jones that fell incomplete. However, the Chargers were called for a pass interference penalty that extended the drive.
The Jaguars took advantage, scoring a touchdown eight plays later to cut the Chargers' lead to four, 30-26. Then, this happened…
Play 5: Bosa called for second unsportsmanlike penalty
Set to line up for an extra point, the Jaguars caught another break. Bosa was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, his second of the contest to give the Jaguars an opportunity to either kick a shorter extra point or to attempt a two-point conversion from the L.A. one-yard line.
Pederson opted to go for two, and give the team an opportunity to win as the Chargers' lead was whittled to 30-28.
After the game, Pederson said the team would not have gone for two had the penalty not occurred.
Advertisement
Play 6: Travis Etienne nearly ices the game with 25-yard run
On the team's game-winning drive with 1:27 left, the Jaguars were faced with a fourth-and-1 on the Chargers' 41-yard line. Initially, Jacksonville lined up in a formation that seemed to indicate either a quarterback sneak or rollout for Lawrence.
Instead, the Jaguars ran a T-formation play , an old-school football play that has rarely been seen in modern-day NFL.
The Jaguars practiced the formation multiple times in practice that week, so there was a chance it would be used during the contest, Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor said in the locker room on Tuesday.
Advertisement
"It was crazy to bring it back the old school stuff and being able to actually execute it in this day and age of football, because football has changed so much over the years, and evolved," said Taylor. "So being able to bring that old stuff in and it still worked, it's crazy."
After handing the ball off to Etienne, the second-year back sprinted to the right, getting outside the tackle box, and turning the corner for a gain of 25 to set Jacksonville up the team's game-winning field goal.
"Great football awareness," Taylor said of Etienne staying in bounds to keep the clock moving. "He knew what time of the game we were in, what situation we needed the ball to stay in bounds. You know, it just went out there and did it."
Advertisement
Chiefs on deck in Divisional Round
The Jaguars will now get ready to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the playoffs on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Though the team was able to pull off what seemed to be impossible against the Chargers, that won't be nearly as easy against one of the best offenses in the NFL over the past several years, including in 2022.
They'll have to score and then score again in order to upset the top-seeded Chiefs, and Pederson said on Tuesday he understands the assignment.
"We've got to take care of the football. We can't do what we did the other night and expect to win, not against this team," said Pederson. "We'll take a look at it and make some adjustments for the week."
Advertisement
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82 .
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How the Jaguars cashed in on key plays in comeback win vs. Chargers
