OL Will Richardson’s TD briefly puts Jaguars ahead of Jets

The Jacksonville Jaguars are showing early in their Week 16 matchup against the New Jets that they want to win. They’ve made a couple of bold decisions and for a brief moment, they led 9-6 after offensive lineman Will Richardson recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

The Jags were in the red zone. Trevor Lawrence faked a handoff and carried the ball. He lost it but Richardson recovered it in the end zone. The 2018 third-round pick was starting in place of right guard Ben Bartch, who landed on the COVID-19/Reserve list on the days preceding the game. They then attempt a two-point conversion but it failed. The Jaguars have already been to the Jets’ goal line twice. They’ve been uncharacteristically aggressive as they are taking shots downfield and have already gone for it on fourth down twice.

You could make the case the Jets aren’t at full strength after placing several players and head coach Robert Saleh on the COVID-19/reserve list but Jacksonville is also without several key contributors, including linebacker Myles Jack, edge rusher Josh Allen, and wide receiver Laviska Shenault. Here’s Richardson’s touchdown in case you missed it or want to watch it again.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been aggressive front the get-go.

The Jags got the ball first but struggled to get their offense going. At one point, they were facing a fourth-and-2 on their own line. Most teams would punt the ball in that situation but not the Jags. They faked a punt, and Andrew Wingard got the yards they needed to get a fresh set of downs. That bet ended up paying off, as Jacksonville went on to put together a 12-yard, 73-yard drive.

A pass interference by Jets cornerback Brandin Echols was big and got them close to the end zone. However, they only came out with three points as they couldn’t move the ball once they were near the goal line.

Andre Cisco made his first start and is already paying off.

Andre Cisco made his first start of the season and looking at how he’s played, it’s fair to wonder why it didn’t happen sooner. During New York’s first possession, he nearly intercepted a pass. Later, he blocked the extra-point attempt. The rookie out of Syracuse got the starting nod against the New York Jets because Rayshawn Jenkins is out for the year with an ankle injury.

Earlier this season, then-head coach Urban Meyer said the team didn’t plan to play Cisco or offensive tackle Walker Little because they didn’t want to sacrifice winning. This explanation didn’t make sense because they were 2-11 at the time.

It’s too early to tell how things are going to play out but the Jaguars seem intent on earning their third victory of the season. As of this writing, they’re trailing 13-12 but things could change at any time.