Jaguars 19, Jets 3: 5 Observations on Key Thursday Night Win

The Jaguars are rolling after Week 16, riding a three-game winning streak into a potential playoff spot after their 19-3 win over the Jets on Thursday Night Football.

The high-flying offense the Jacksonville Jaguars showed the last two weeks may not have been as electric in a 19-3 win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, but it didn't matter. 

The Jaguars were simply a better team than the Jets, a symbol of just how far the Jaguars have gone during their recent surge. 

"Listen, that’s a good defense. Hats off to our guys, the offensive line. It was going to be one of those days," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. 

"It was going to be physical. It was going to be tough. We were going to have to run the football because throwing it was going to be hard. But, we were efficient, I think, in the passing game. We made some plays in the passing game. It’s just one of those deals. I’m just really proud of the guys."

So, what did we see during the Jaguars' third win in a row? We break it down below. 

The difference in the developmental track for each quarterback was staggering 

It was obvious when watching tape of the 2021 quarterback class a year ago that some quarterbacks were more primed for big years than others. While inconsistent and at some times even on the verge of losing his confidence, Trevor Lawrence still flashed plenty of high-level traits. Zach Wilson, on the other hand, never showed promise as a rookie. So, each was entering this year at different levels. 

Still, it was staggering to see the difference in each quarterback last night. Wilson isn't just some quarterback picked after Lawrence: he was the No. 2 overall pick. The Jets poured resource after resource into the offense around Wilson, and unlike Lawrence he was entering his second season with the same coaching staff and scheme. 

But on Sunday, we saw one quarterback clearly energize his team and make tough plays in an ugly-weather road win, while the other didn't look capable of completing a forward pass consistently. Lawrence and Wilson are playing two different sports right now, a staggering result that likely even the biggest Lawrence advocate and Wilson detractor before the draft would have been surprised by. 

Doug Pederson impressed, even with a watered-down game-plan

Doug Pederson said in his Monday press conference that short weeks lead to more or less doing the basics. It was obvious how much this and the weather played a factor, with the Jaguars only throwing eight passes with 10 or more air yards. Instead, the Jaguars let their receivers get work in the screen game while taking calculated shots and check downs. The Jaguars also seemed to make an excessive point to run the ball, with Travis Etienne nearly recording 20 carries in the first-half alone. It was as vanilla of a game-plan as you will see from Pederson. 

And yet ... it was still madly impressive? The Jaguars had a 16-play, 96-yard touchdown drive against a top-10 defense in bad weather, in large part due to Pederson scheming the Jets up. His usage of pre-snap motion and play-action had the Jets' linebackers playing with bad eyes all game long. Receivers were consistently open, and it was easily a win for Pederson when it came to a schematic match against Robert Saleh. 

"It just kind of shows what we’re capable of doing offensively. I’m just proud of the guys," Pederson said. "There were some key plays in there, third downs and all that. I think it just gives the guys confidence throughout the game that you can build off."

Evan Engram has become a go-to option 

Evan Engram continued his hot streak on Thursday night, becoming the go-to for Trevor Lawrence in yet another big game. Engram has arguably been the best skill player on the offense over the three-game winning streak, seeing 33 targets and catching 26 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns in that span. This includes two different 100-yard games as a pass-catcher, including his first-ever at Metlife on Thursday despite playing 46 games there as a Giant.

"Sometimes you just never know who is going to get the ball. Sometimes in games like this where the weather can be a factor, your tight ends can have bigger games," Pederson said after the game. 

"He’s gotten better with the offense learning the details that we teach. He’s very unselfish. He works extremely hard in practice. He wants to be good. He loves being coached and it shows on the field. He’s a really good teammate to have and leader of the team."

Engram was physical, dynamic and consistent for the Jaguars in all facets on Thursday night. As they make their playoff push, it might not be a stretch to say he is the offense's top passing-game option moving forward.

Credit to Mike Caldwell for a good gameplan 

It isn't exactly a challenge to limit Zach Wilson, but the Jaguars still deserve credit for the way they shut down the Jets. They allowed just 72 yards and three first downs in the first half, which is impressive since the Jets threw for over 300 yards a week ago against the Lions' defense. Wilson was putrid, but the Jaguars also had a good game-plan for him in terms of their pressure looks to force him into mistakes. Caldwell and the Jaguars' suffocated the entire Jets' offense to the point where the Jaguars even expected a quarterback change at halftime. 

"Yeah, absolutely. We knew after the first half, well I thought (Joe) Flacco was going to come in, honestly, but they decided to go with number 15 (Chris Streveler)," safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. "He did a pretty decent job for them when he got in there, but we ultimately were able to shut them down and keep them to three points."

Mike Caldwell has caught a lot of flak at times as the Jaguars' defense has had rough outings over the last two months, but they out-schemed and out-played the Jets. Wilson was horrible, but Caldwell won his matchup against Mike LaFleur. 

Loss of Dawuane Smoot looms large, but front seven deserves credit for stepping up with two starters down

The Jaguars suffered a serious injury in the game's final minutes, with key defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot being carted off the field after a non-contact injury in the fourth quarter. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Friday that Smoot's injury appears to be a torn Achilles, which is a significant blow considering he is second on the team in pressures, fourth in quarterback hits, first in sacks, and second in pass-rush win rate. 

With that said, the Jaguars can at least be encouraged that they won in the trenches vs. the Jets despite being down two starters in Travon Walker and Foley Fatukasi. Smoot, Arden Key, Roy Robertson-Harris, and DaVon Hamilton combined for 14 pressures and two sacks, while the Jets' running game went nowhere until they started running quarterback power. 

"It’s always been next man up mentality. We had Jeremiah Ledbetter up today and he contributed a bit today. Roy (Robertson-Harris) was tough to block in there. You saw Arden (Key) in a couple of times and Josh Allen," Pederson said. 

"It was group effort by those guys. DaVon Hamilton. It’s just a relentless group, a resilient group. I thought they played well in the absence of Foley and Travon. Now, we get some time to heal up and try to get healthy in the next four to five days."