Jaguars 32-16 Patriots (Oct. 20, 2024) Game Recap

LONDON – The Jacksonville Jaguars showed no signs of calm this week after falling behind early on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

The Jaguars trailed 10-0 before defeating the Patriots 32-16 at Wembley Stadium.

“That’s what our team can do,” coach Doug Pederson said. “We were 10 points behind, but no one said 'here we go again' or defeated or had negative thoughts. It was just one play at a time.”

Tank Bigsby rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Washington returned the favor with a punt 96 yards for a score. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught a touchdown pass for the Jaguars (2-5).

In his second start, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye led a scoring drive in the fourth quarter but was unable to score a second as New England (1-6) lost its sixth straight game for the first time since 1993.

Bigsby scored on a 4-yard run after the Patriots turned the ball over on downs following the two-minute warning.

The win should at least temporarily relieve some of the pressure on Pederson and provide some optimism for the season.

That, of course, was the thinking two weeks ago when the Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts for their first win. Then they changed course with an embarrassing 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears.

“Adversity shows real character,” said Bigsby, who made 26 appearances while Travis Etienne was sidelined with an injury. “It shows who you can be and who you are. Today has shown what this can be…let’s move on.”

No giving up

Andre Cisco said after the loss to Chicago that he saw the team “give up” in the second half.

The Jags safety said Sunday that he had “cleared the air” with his teammates this week, adding that he wasn't talking about individual players.

“Obviously I didn’t say it the way I wanted to in that moment, just pure emotion,” he said.

The Jaguars scored four straight goals after falling behind early.

Thomas caught a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal to put the Jags on the field, and he set up the go-ahead score for Jacksonville when he stormed down the middle of the field and threw a 58-yard pass the New England caught 21.

Four plays later, Bigsby's 1-yard plunge gave the Jags a 14-10 lead.

Washington's record-setting 96-yard punt return for a touchdown made it 22-10. Lawrence threw to Thomas for the 2-point conversion after the Patriots were offside attempting an extra point.

Lawrence completed 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Thomas had five receptions for 89 yards.

Missed opportunities

The Jags struggled to extend their lead in the second half.

They opened the second half with a lead at the New England 3, but settled for a field goal and increased their lead to 25-10 when Christian Kirk couldn't get a second foot on a third down in the corner of the end zone.

On its next drive, Jacksonville drove down the field with a 17-play drive, but Bigsby was squeezed out of the 6th with a fourth-and-1 for no gain.

Maye got the Patriots back into the end zone less than three minutes later when he hit KJ Osborn for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 25-16 after Cisco had previously fended off a possible interception. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.

For the first time this season, the Patriots scored on their first drive. JaMycal Hasty caught a pass in the flat and made Josh Hines-Allen and Cisco miss to get into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception.

Maye finished 26 of 37 for 276 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said his team was “soft.”

“They had control of the ball most of the day,” he said. “Back to the drawing board. We can’t sit here and sulk.”

Sights and sounds

Pats cornerback Christian Gonzalez came to Wembley in striker Harry Kane's England jersey. The Bayern Munich star is England's all-time leading goalscorer and also happens to be a huge Patriots fan. Kane was in attendance when New England won its sixth Super Bowl title in 2019. … Matt Turner, a goalkeeper for the US national team and London club Crystal Palace, was in the Wembley crowd.

Injuries

Patriots: WR DeMario Douglas briefly left the game due to illness in the third quarter. … RB Antonio Gibson was held down after a 9-yard reception in the first quarter… OL Layden Robinson (ankle) limped off the field in the first quarter and was ruled out… Rookie WR Javon Baker was inactive after missing practice missed on Friday with an illness.

Jaguars: OL Cam Robinson was out in the second quarter with a concussion… RB Travis Etienne was inactive with a hamstring injury.

Next

Patriots: Host the New York Jets next Sunday.

Jaguars: Host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl