The Jacksonville Jaguars got off to a tremendous start against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. However, their end to the first half has raised even more questions about what could have been.

The Jaguars had the ball and two timeouts with just under a minute left in the second quarter when they decided to just take a knee and run out the clock. According to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, head coach Doug Marrone chalked the decision up to weighing the risks involved with such an attempt for some last-second points:

“I thought for what they do coverage-wise and what we had to do, and we had the lead and they had just scored,” Marrone said Monday, via quotes distributed by the team. “I just didn’t want to put ourselves in a position [for something negative]. I wanted to get in leading at halftime. I didn’t think it was a great situation that we had been great at during the year. I thought the risk and reward for us at that moment in time was let’s go in and make our adjustments. Let’s get ourselves going, and let’s take this lead into halftime. That is exactly how I thought. Right or wrong.”

Article Continues Below
More NFL News
Mystery player in the middle, Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne Jr around him, Jaguars logo in the background
1 Jacksonville Jaguars rookie who stood out most in 2025 minicampEnzo Flojo ·
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid against the Buffalo Bills during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
1 Kansas City Chiefs player with most to prove at OTAsJaren Kawada ·
Mystery player in the middle, Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara around him, Saints logo in the background
1 New Orleans Saints rookie who stood out most in 2025 minicampEnzo Flojo ·
Kenyon Green next to the blacked-out silhouette of Cameron Williams in front of the Eagles stadium.
3 Philadelphia Eagles hidden gems on 2025 roster you need to knowMatty Breisch ·
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (97) reacts to sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (not pictured) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium.
Cowboys’ Osa Odighizuwa talks up new DC Matt EberflusRichard Pereira ·
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws a pass during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.
Shedeur Sanders gets ‘elite’ evaluation from Browns reporterRichard Pereira ·

Of course, with hindsight being 20/20, it is easy to say the result could have been much different had Jacksonville managed to get some quick points before halftime. Marrone's decision is still hard to fathom considering the Jaguars had enough time to possibly get within field goal range.

However, it seems Marrone started to get a bit conservative on the offensive side of the ball once Jacksonville took the lead. Needless to say, even if they did get a field goal, it would not have been enough as they were subsequently outscored by eight points in the second half en route to a 24-20 loss.