Jacksonville Jaguars achieve third-largest comeback to postseason in pro football history
At the end of the first half of the wild-card game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, things looked entirely hopeless for Doug Pederson’s Jags. Jacksonville was down 27-7 after Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions during the first half. Even Engram had scored a touchdown pass to Lawrence with 24 seconds left. But things looked very dire for the home side.
The Chargers were in chaos when the second half began. Head coach Brandon Staley’s defense had constricted Jacksonville’s receivers by attacking them on short and intermediate routes, basically giving no respect for the speed of Lawrence’s targets. Perhaps Engram’s touchdown changed their minds, because Los Angeles wasn’t as aggressive in the second half.
Which was clearly to Lawrence’s benefit. Lawrence completed 10 of 24 passes for just 77 yards, one touchdown and four picks in the first half. His passer rating was 24.5. Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes to gain 211 yards in the second half. He also had three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating 144.47.
That’s about as graphic a difference as you can get.
“You couldn’t write a crazier script,” Lawrence said right after the game. “We said in the locker room, this is kind of how our season’s going. We were always in the fight. I was breaking… not a good record in the first quarter with those interceptions, [we] We were not looking very good offensively but we kept believing in each other. We knew our defense would be able to stop enough opponents and that we would have enough chances to win the game. I’m kind of speechless. Just to see what belief can do.”
While the Jaguars deserve all the credit for the third-largest postseason comeback in pro football history…
…the Chargers also Chargered at a level we’ve rarely seen. The 31-30 result was another heartbreaking win for a franchise that has already caused many fans heartbreak. Situational awareness didn’t seem to be there.
The Jaguars also made history in the end.
With all this information, perhaps you can find some inspiration? Riley Patterson‘s 36-yard field goal as time expired was a fait accompli.