4th quarter big play saves the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have somehow been able to keep their division title until now. They haven’t been that strong statistically but doing the right things at the right times has kept them afloat. After beating the Oakland Raiders, the Jaguars looked set to keep the
AFC South leadership.
The win did not come easily for Jacksonville though. In fact through most of the game the Raiders kept the lead and the pressure was on Jacksonville to catch up. From the start the Raiders offense had the advantage over the Jaguars. Their usually strong
rush struggled to help them in the game but Jason Campbells passing picked up the game.
In the first quarter Darren McFadden and the Raiders quarterback turned things around in one big play. On the 3rd and 8th Campbell threw a short right pass to McFadden but the running back turned it into a touchdown for the Raiders. He evaded
coverage to comfortably catch the ball but free safety Sean Considine was blocking his path for a touchdown. Considine tried to read his movements but McFadden was too slippery for him. McFadden jumped right when Considine was about to tackle him and ran on
the edge of the field towards the end zone. Free Safety Don Carey eventually caught up with McFadden just before he reached the end zone. He tried to pull him down but the running back’s momentum carried him through into the end zone for a touchdown. Sebastian
Janikowski’s extra point attempt was good and put the Raiders in a 7 – 0 lead over the Jaguars.
McFadden had a huge day and the 67 yard touchdown was just the start of it.
After the touchdown Jacksonville’s offense put pressure on the Oakland’s secondary but the defence fought back and won the drive. On Oakland’s 36 yard line, Jaguars’ quarterback David Garrard was sacked for 8 yards forcing them to punt the ball. The Jaguars
regained possession after their defence sacked Campbell on Oakland’s 15 for 8 yards. Shane Lechler’s 50 yard punt from the 7 yard line, returned for 12 yards, put the Jaguars in Oakland’s half and gave them an opportunity to score that they would not miss.
The Jaguars continued that drive into the second quarter. Mercedes Lewis caught a 20 yard pass from Garrard. Maurice Drew-Jones received 9 more yards to put the Raiders in the red zone. Rashad Jennings rushed 16 more yards to set up the touchdown for Lewis.
Garrard waited behind the offensive line until Lewis cut across the end zone to receive the pass and score the first touchdown for the Jaguars.
The Raiders took back the lead in the very next drive with a field goal. Oakland pushed well into the red zone but couldn’t score the touchdown. Janikowski scored the field goal for the Raiders and put them back in the lead. Before the end of the quarter
the Raiders scored again and stretched their lead to 10 points.
Campbell started the drive with 12 and 11 yards passes to Zach Miller and Marcel Reece. Michael Bush and Reece rushed another 8 yards to get Oakland to the centre of the field. Campbell threw another 13 yards to Reece before they took their first timeout
with a minute and 54 seconds still on the clock and 48 yards to go. Coming back from the timeout Campbell threw a 24 yarder to wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey to take the Raider into the red zone, on the 11 yard line. Campbell ended the drive with an 8 yard
pass to Lewis with just 25 seconds on the clock. He Waited for Lewis until he was clear of Jacksonville’s defenders before throwing for touchdown. Campbell had to be exceptionally accurate for the pass because Lewis was being heavily guarded and the slightest
mistake could have been very costly.
The first Half ended with Oakland leading by 10 points and Jacksonville struggling with the offense.
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