Jaguars vs. Ravens: Halftime Thoughts

What did we see in the first-half of Jaguars vs. Ravens?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are trailing the Baltimore Ravens 10-0 entering halftime, but what did we see in the first-half?

Lamar Jackson was toying with the Jaguars' defense 

The Jaguars made a few plays against Lamar Jackson, ranging from Rayshawn Jenkins' interception to Travon Walker's third-down sack to Josh Allen's near third-down sack. But ultimately, Jackson was simply too good, too often for the Jaguars' defense. The Jaguars attempted to contain Jackson and keep a spy on him, but he simply was able to create outside of the pocket and find open recievers. And when the Jaguars did blitz, Jackson stood tough in the pocket and fired darts to the middle of the field.

The Jaguars' defense had been bludgeoned through the air in the previous two weeks due to miscommunications and mental mistakes.

The Jaguars have a Brandon McManus issue

Brandon McManus looked like a complete revelation earlier this season. Over the last month, though, he has turned into a liability. Dating back to the Houston Texans game when he missed a potentially game-altering field goal, McManus is now 1-of-5 on his last five field goals after he missed two field goals in the first half. Between tonight and the Cincinnati Bengals game, McManus has become a legitimate net negative for this team.

Context is needed, of course. One of those missed kicks was 55 yards and against the win. But when it comes to football, that doesn't matter. What matters are the results, and two missed field goals in what was a 3-0 game for most of the first-half was a potential death knell for the team.

The running game finally woke up 

The Jaguars' running game had been completely anemic since the bye week -- for most of 2023, really. But it came alive in the first-half, and the Jaguars used it to continue to give Trevor Lawrence some manageable down-and-distances. While a few negative runs at the start of the second half dinged the ultimate numbers, Travis Etienne rushed for 30 yards on his first five carries after recording just 34 yards on 14 carries last week.

The Jaguars' offense had become completely one-dimensional in recent weeks, which led to too much pressure on the passing game, the offensive line and Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars finally found some room on Sunday night, though, and it showed with the difference in overall offensive efficiency.