By Eric Goska
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| Jeff Hafley's defense did more than blow bubbles at Jacksonville Sunday. (photos by Eric Goska) |
The Jaguars unleashed a rare one-two punch against the
Packers Sunday.
But for all its effort, Jacksonville’s once-in-a-blue-moon double-dip earned it nothing more than a dubious footnote in Green and Gold history.
Trevor Lawrence and his offensive teammates twice mounted far-reaching drives while hosting Green Bay at EverBank Stadium. That the
outsized quarterback capped both with touchdown passes did not deter the
Packers who rallied after each to post a 30-27 win.
Early on, Jacksonville displayed a distinct inability to roam the field. Three
of its four initial possessions ended with a punt. The other was halted by an
interception. None of the four advances yielded a first down or consisted of
more than three plays.
So when Green Bay went ahead 10-0 on a 31-yard Brandon
McManus field goal with six minutes, three seconds remaining in the first half,
the Jaguars had all of 23 yards on 11 plays.
Reining in an opponent to that extent has always spelled
victory under head coach Matt LaFleur. Six times had his Packers afforded the
competition 23 or fewer yards on their first 11 snaps, and six times Green Bay
prevailed.
Surely this was a cakewalk in the making?
Not even close. Jacksonville was not about to wave the white flag.
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| Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper forced a fumble when he sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. |
Down 13-10 at the break, the Jaguars twice dialed long
distance. They moved 93 yards in 10 plays to go ahead 17-10 on their second
possession of the third quarter. They then zipped 87 yards on 8 plays to tie
the score at 27 with 1:48 remaining in the game.
The home team made it look easy. Especially Lawrence who compiled
a perfect passer rating on the two advances by completing 10 of 12 passes for
151 yards and two touchdowns.
The six-foot-six signal caller doled out passes to seven different
receivers: Evan Engram (3-34), Brenton Strange (2-26), Christian Kirk (1-26), D’Ernest
Johnson (1-20), Tim Jones (1-15), Parker Washington (1-15) and Brian Thomas
(1-14). Thomas and Engram each reached the end zone, both from 14 yards out.
More than half (10) of Jacksonville’s 19 first downs were
produced on the two forays. Nearly half (185) of the Jaguars’ 390 yards were
produced while running rampant.
Lawrence’s plunge for two on fourth down kept the first advance
alive. His pass to Strange for 21 on third down ensured the second continued.
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| Devonte Wyatt recovered a fumble that led to a Packers touchdown. |
Yielding touchdowns after an opponent has traveled more than 85 yards twice
in one game is virtually unheard of in Packerland. It had happened just four times previously
since 1921, a span of 1,442 regular-season games.
Each of the four teams that did it – Giants in 2022, Falcons in
2017, Rams in 1956 and Lions in 1951 – defeated Green Bay. Jacksonville becomes
the first to go to such lengths and lose.
Though the Packers prevailed, concerns ought to be raised regarding
their defense or lack thereof. Even in a sport with the scales tipped in favor
of the offense, giving up two touchdowns in the same game on drives of more
than 85 yards is alarming.
Prior to Sunday, the league’s 32 teams had combined to
produce 2,333 drives in 2024 with 287 of those originating inside a team’s
15-yard line. Just 43 of those 287 (15 percent) resulted in touchdowns.
At EverBank Stadium, four of Jacksonville’s 12 possessions started
within 14 yards of its goal. That half of those wound up with the Jaguars in
the end zone is two too many.
Thus, Green Bay became the third team to allow two touchdowns on drives of more than 85 yards in one game this season. Minnesota gave up two to
the Packers in its 31-29 win on Sept. 29, and Washington surrendered two in
falling 30-23 to the Ravens on Oct. 13.
Since 1921, only five teams have staged two touchdown drives of more than 85 yards in a regular-season game against the Packers.
Date Team Drive 1 Drive 2 Result
Oct. 27, 2024 Jaguars 10-93 8-87 GB won, 30-27
Oct. 9, 2022 Giants 11-86 15-91 GB lost, 22-27
Sept. 17, 2017 Falcons 9-86 10-87 GB lost, 23-34
Dec. 16, 1956 Rams 6-97 11-86 GB lost, 21-49
Nov. 22, 1951 Lions 10-86 2-90 GB lost, 35-52
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