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Wow. What a day for the Jacksonville Jaguars, as they upset both offensive and defensive juggernaut Buffalo Bills, by a score of 9-6. It's an amazing accomplishment for a young squad to take it to the apparent AFC favorites (at least heading into Week 9), as the Jags have been the opposite of Buffalo's, having struggled mightily on both offense and defense. Whether it was simply a great performance or the curse of the Manningcast, spirits are as high as ever in Jacksonville.
As the final score indicates, it was a stress-inducing contest for fans of both teams throughout, as turnovers and sloppy play took turns taking the life out of each team's offense. On Jacksonville's side, they could have even won the game by a decent margin, had they simply taken advantage of a few simple, but key plays.
Carlos Hyde's fumble in the red zone cost the Jaguars at least three points, and Matthew Wright's missed 42-yard field goal cost them exactly 3 points, which allowed the Bills to stay in the game despite it feeling like the Jags were the better team on Sunday, through and through.
The final result is all that matters in the NFL, though, and, somehow, a team that had lost 21 out of their last 22 games, looks to have some life. Can they sustain it? Here are 3 key takeaways from Sunday's win.
3. Josh Allen is a star in the making
As every social media account has had to specify – no, we are not talking about the gunslinger Josh Allen. We're talking about the fearsome edge rusher Josh Allen, who came to Sunday's game with a mission in mind: wreak havoc on Josh Allen. And wreak havoc he did, as racked up 8 tackles, sacked Josh Allen, picked off Josh Allen, and recovered a Josh Allen fumble. That probably won't happen again. Jokes aside, Allen (Jaguars) has looked amazing as of late and is showing that his breakout Pro Bowl campaign in his rookie year was not a fluke. With 3 sacks in the last 2 games, he's on pace for over 13 this year, and will be a lynchpin on this defense for quite some time.
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2. Trevor Lawrence is a gutsy playmaker
Things looked grim in the second quarter, when No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence went down with an injury, then Carlos Hyde fumbled in the red zone later on in the drive. However, Lawrence returned in the second half to lead two straight drives out of the half that resulted in manageable field goal attempts against what has easily been the league's best defense. He's had his ups and downs this year, but Trevor certainly has the mentality and toughness to be a winning QB in this league.
1. The Jags have a promising infrastructure for the seasons to come
It was just back in early 2018 that a vaunted Jacksonville defense, dynamic running back in Leonard Fournette, and a passable passing game carried the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game, where they fell just short to the dominant New England Patriots. That formula for winning is proven, and, if Sunday is any indication, the Jags might be building that kind of team right now. Their defense has shown flashes of greatness, and their amazing skill-position corps will be there for quite some time. If the bounces fall their way, this team could be back in contention in just a couple seasons. Let's hope Sunday was not simply a flash in the pan.
