Jaguars get outstanding grade for beating Ravens in Week 12

Wins have been few and far between for the Jacksonville Jaguars in recent years and nobody would have blamed you if you had them losing against a Baltimore Ravens team that was coming off a four-game winning streak. But the Jags thought an upset was possible and ended up beating Baltimore 28-27.

The Jags struggled to move the ball at different points of the game but their offense and their defense came through when it mattered the most, which is why they got an outstanding grade for their upset win.

John Breech of CBS Sports graded every team in Wee 12 and Jacksonville got an A-. Breech thinks this could be the turning point in Trevor Lawrence’s career but doesn’t overlook the role the defense played in the win.

"If Lawrence plays like this going forward, the Jaguars (4-7) could be a dangerous team over the final stretch of the season. The Jags’ offense kept the Ravens guessing with five different players catching at least three passes, including Zay Jones, who caught 11 passes for 145 yards. The Jags’ defense also played a key role in this win by coming up with two huge turnovers and holding the Ravens to just two touchdowns on five trips to the red zone."

Lawrence completed 78.38 percent of his passes for 321 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He hasn’t thrown a pick since Week 8 and his 79.3 Pro Football Grade against the Ravens ranked sixth among Jaguars players.

Breech also thinks that head coach Doug Pederson deserves credit for going for two instead of kicking the extra point with the game on the line. Meanwhile, the Ravens got a C for “letting this one slip away”.

The Jaguars showed growth against the Ravens in Week 12

Lawrence had made strides in Year 2. He’s already thrown more touchdowns than in his rookie season and his completion percentage has improved. But he was still missing that signature performance. He previously had a few chances this season to mount a comeback but fell flat. But it was different against the Ravens.

Even though Lawrence his first pass fell incomplete and got sacked in the second play of the winning drive, he remained unfazed and spread the ball on his way to the Ravens’ end zone. It’s also important to highlight that Zay Jones, Marvin Jones, and Christian Kirk all caught passes during the drive. Similarly, Doug Pederson’s decision to go for to goes on to show how much he trusts players to deliver with the game on the line.

Pederson met with Bucky Brooks after the game and pointed out that although it wasn’t perfect, players came up clutch in the final drive.

“Overall, I’m excited for the guys, we found a way”, Pederson said. “We’ve been talking about this all year, players making plays and this is what I told them the offensive staff, they’re late in the game, I was like, ‘we’ve got to think about players and not plays”.

“Marvin [Jones] came big. Obviously, Zay [Jones] came up big, Christian [Kirk] had some big catches there toward the end. It was just Trevor, JaMycal [Hasty]. Overall, great performance by our team”, Pederson said.

The Jaguars had been in several close games this season but they had come up short. They finished the job against the Ravens because Pederson put his players in a position to succeed and trusted them to make plays.