JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -The Jaguars jumped out to an early lead of 27-0 however, The Los Angeles Chargers saw their postseason collapse in the second half , as Jacksonville Jaguars swept away the Jacksonville Jaguars stormed back for the win 31-30 on Saturday night.
It was the third largest comeback in the history of playoffs. The Jaguars are now in the AFC divisional round following their first playoff victory since the 2017 season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
There are many methods to explain how the Jaguars’ performance during their wild-card win against the Chargers at TIAA Bank Field, but the word “ridiculous” is the best way to describe it.
What else can you say about Trevor Lawrence throwing four interceptions during the first halfwhich included three during the opening quarterand the Jaguars coming back from a deficit of 27-0 to defeat their opponents the Los Angeles Chargers on Riley Patterson’s last-second field goal of 36 yards?
It was hard to pinpoint how badly the Jaguars performed in the opening half better than a punt that bounced through Chris Claybrook’s helmet which the Chargers were able to recover and transformed into an open field, and an advantage of 27-0 with five minutes left. It was a disaster for the Jaguars during their first thirty minutes.
The Jaguars had committed five turnovers during the game and, it appeared to have placed the team in an unsustainable hole to get out of, even though the Jaguars were able to make a comeback in the second quarter to reduce the Chargers advantage to two points at 5:25 remaining.
The most recent time an opponent was able to turn the ball over five times in the initial part of a playoff game was during Divisional Playoffs in 1999the Miami Dolphins did it against the Jaguars on the same field. The Jaguars beat the Jaguars with a score of 62-7. They also took Dolphins player Dan Marino into retirement.
Most powerful comebacks in NFL Postseason
The Chargers took an advantage of 27-0 in the first quarter on Saturday. Then they were taken home to the Jaguars.
OPPONENT
1992 Bills 32 Oilers
- Colts 28 Chiefs
2022 Jaguars 27 Chargers
- Patriots 25 Falcons
The Chargers however, ran to 180 yards. Justin Herbert completed 15 of 24 passes for 139 yards during the opening half. They were able to score a short field for two of the four interception attempts Lawrence made and the Jaguars did manage to take pressure off Herbert on just one of his pass dropbacks.
Now , the Jaguars are on the verge of winning seven consecutive games waiting to see the outcome of Sunday’s games to determine what their plans are for Kansas City.
QB breakdown Lawrence was the quarterback who played his worst part in the NFL and college years in the opening second. The first pass he made was intercepted and he proceeded to make three passes during the second quarter, making Lawrence the third quarterback of the Super Bowl era to throw four interceptions in the initial period of a game that was a playoff (Gary Danielson as well as Craig Morton were the others). Lawrence was the first quarterback of the Super Bowl era to throw three interceptions in the opening period of an playoff match, and at various points during the first quarter, he had quarterback ratings between 0.0 or 0.6.
The biggest hole in the game’s plan of attack: The Jaguars ought to have been able to take on the Chargers defense on the perimeter during the run game, with the running quarterback Travis Etienne Jr., who averaged an NFL-high 8.3 yards per run outside the line of scrimmage. Los Angeles allowed 9.3 yards per carry in these runs, which is the worst on the field. However, that was blown out of the window when they faced a huge loss, even though the Jaguars did attempt to pass the ball through the guards at times in the second quarter, while going to the speed-up offense.
Los Angeles Chargers
In the lead-up to the Chargers making their first playoff appearance in four years. Questions were raised about the future of coach Brandon Staley.
These questions aren’t likely to be resolved following a total meltdown with the Jaguars.
L.A. got off to an impressive start and defensive back Asante Samuel Jr. scoring three of the four interceptions Lawrence threw in the opening half , and Running back Austin Ekeler converting two of the interceptions into touchdowns, quickly calming an over-amped TIAA Bank Field crowd and allowed the Chargers to get a 27-7 advantage into halftime.
However, with the Super Bowl-winning Coach Doug Pederson, the fourth-seeded Jaguars were able to adjust after the break and launched a 24-3 scoring streak and sent their fifth-seeded Bolts towards the summer in which a myriad of questions regarding Staley and 10th-year general manager Tom Telesco and the direction of the team — are awaiting.
Two half-hours two halves: The Chargers had an impressive 27-0 run during the first quarter, fueled by five turnovers , including four interceptions , as well as the restitution of a missed punt. However, the Jaguars came back by launching an offensive streak of their own and scored a touchdown to end the first quarter and added 24 more points to make it an remarkable comeback.
QB breakdown: Following warm-ups, 24-year-old Herbert left the field and raised his fist at the screaming Chargers fans which indicated he was ready for the first NFL postseason debut. Herbert with no the star wide receiver Mike Williams, who was exiled from the game on Friday due to a tiny non-surgical fracture in his back, had an almost flawless first half. Herbert led five scoring drives that converted each takeaway.
In the second half Herbert was unable to play without Williams and DeAndre Carter, who had to leave the game with an ankle injury was unable to establish a rhythm that was consistent.
He racked up 25-of-43 yards and one touchdown.
Statistics that matter: The Chargers maintained an advantage on every offensive play during the second half , but lost.
