JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars got the Hall of Fame edition of Aaron Rodgers on Sunday afternoon.
Mac Jones and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. had a stellar day but it was Rodgers and Davante Adams taking control late as the Jets rallied to beat Jacksonville 32-25 on Sunday at EverBank Stadium. It was a fun and back-and-forth affair with Jacksonville showing a bit more fight than normal but little was at stake other than draft status for both teams.
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The Jets have been even more disappointing this year than the Jaguars, especially with their investment in future Hall of Famer Rodgers paying more strife than dividends. They already fired head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, and are poised for a franchise reset. But the Jaguars couldn’t account for a clutch performance from Rodgers when it mattered. He looked like the Rodgers of old, tossing three touchdown passes, two of those going to Adams, and managed a team-best 45 yards rushing. It conjured up memories of the old days when those two played together in Green Bay and showcased what New York expected when it traded for both of those players.
Jones and the Jaguars had one final attempt to rally but his pass with 44 seconds left was picked off by Sauce Gardner to clinch it for New York (4-10). The win moved the Jaguars up to the No. 4 draft pick, according to Tankathon and pushed the Jets down to eighth. The teams in front of Jacksonville, the Giants, Raiders and Panthers, have combined to lose 22 consecutive games. The Giants currently hold the No. 1 pick.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to get there, and you’ve got to put up points. I can turn some of those 3s into 7s and it’s a different game,” Jones said. “I’ll learn from it. I thought the guys played well and fought hard. I really enjoyed playing with this group and we’ll figure it out.”
The loss dropped the Jaguars to 3-11. Jacksonville has three games left, visiting the Raiders, hosting Tennessee and then traveling to the Colts in Week 18. Owner Shad Khan hasn’t tipped his hand on what changes, if any, are ahead, but speculation has been in overdrive that he could wipe the slate clean and start anew in 2025.
Rodgers connected with Adams on a 71-yard touchdown with 3:34 to play and added the two-point toss to Adams as well. After Jacksonville tied things at 25-all on Cam Little’s fourth field goal of the game, Rodgers went to work. He hit Adams on two highlight reel plays, including a twisting, toe-tapping grab on third-and-10 that went for 23 yards and into Jaguars territory. Adams took another catch on the drive 41 yards to the 1 and Breece Hall plunged in one play later for the go-ahead points.
That gave Jacksonville one last opportunity for a win or a tie. Jones marched the Jaguars to the New York 47 but his last pass attempt went right into Gardner’s hands to ice it.
“He’s a great receiver. I mean, Aaron is a great quarterback. He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. So they made plays that we didn’t make, and that part’s unfortunate,” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson. “I thought we did some good things. But, again, it comes down to just a couple plays that your season or your game or whatever could be a little bit different. But give credit, I mean, those are two good players.”
Back and forth
The Jets had taken a 17-16 lead on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Adams late in the third quarter but Jones had a chance to deliver his second straight come-from-behind win. He did it last week against the Titans, leading Jacksonville to all 10 points in the final quarter in a 10-6 win. And it looked like he was going to do it again when he connected with Thomas on a 19-yard touchdown strike just four minutes into the fourth and then got Jacksonville in position for Little’s 43-yard field goal with 1:56 to go.
Jacksonville was denied on its try and two but dodged trouble when Anders Carlson pulled a 48-yard field goal attempt right. The Jets had done little to think that they could drive for the go-ahead points, especially backed up on their own 13 after a punt. But Rodgers found Adams steps behind the Jaguars safeties and connected with him in stride on the 71-yard game breaker. Adams had 198 yards receiving on another pitiful showing by the Jacksonville defense.
“Today was one of those days in the second half. Definitely felt very, very similar to the way we used to get it rolling,” Adams said. “You can almost — I mean, y’all will never be able to feel this. But being in the huddle with Aaron, it felt a lot different.”
Jones played much better this week in place of injured starter Trevor Lawrence, but his fourth-quarter interception was his second game-sealing pick this season. He had three fourth-quarter turnovers in the final seven minutes in a 12-7 loss to the Vikings in his first start with Jacksonville. He finished 31 of 46 for 294 yards and both touchdown passes to Thomas. It was Jones’ first loss to the Jets in seven games. He was 6-0 against New York when he played in New England.
“My goal is to finish this year strong and see where it takes us. I’m bummed. I’m disappointed because we were in that game,” Jones said. “I’m looking at it from a professional standpoint and what can I do better? And I thought the coaches called a good game and the players executed for the most part. I’ve just got to make a couple more plays and we’ll be in a different spot.”
Fast-paced start
Jones led the Jaguars on a 70-yard drive to open the game, capping it with a 3-yard touchdown throw to Thomas that gave him franchise records for receiving yardage by a rookie and receiving touchdowns by a rookie. Thomas had a career day with 105 yards on 10 catches and a pair of touchdowns.
“I mean, it comes with it. I was just going out there playing. It comes with it. Just being the best I can be. And it turned out good for me just being able to break those records,” Thomas said. “But at the end of the day, we still wanted to go out there and win as a team.”
The Jets came right back, including a fake punt conversion run by Ashtyn Davis that covered 21 yards. Three plays later, Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson for a 22-yard touchdown.
Jones’ best drive of the game took most of the second quarter and ended with a 28-yard field goal by Cam Little to put Jacksonville up 10-7. That drive chewed up 11 minutes, 7 seconds. Jones led the Jaguars to another scoring drive right before the break, taking Jacksonville from its own 22 all the way to the New York 5 in 95 seconds and set up a 23-yard field goal by Little and a 13-7 lead. The rookie kicker hit his third field goal of the game, a 43-yarder in the third quarter that put the Jaguars up 16-10 banged through another 43-yarder to tie it at 25-all with 1:56 to play.