Packers Overcome Jacksonville's Lengthy Drives

 By Eric Goska

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.

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.

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.

Area Code 86+6
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