An unforgettable run of Jaguars football came to an end on Saturday evening as the team suffered a close 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While it wasn’t the ending we wanted as fans, it will take nothing away from the magic of the season.
A 5-game winning streak to close the regular season and set the Jags atop the AFC South provided highlight after highlight. The tight-knit roster repeatedly pulled off improbable comebacks, some of which will be remembered as the greatest games in this franchise’s history.
Before turning our attention to the off-season and impending free-agency decisions, we owe it to the team to relive some of the greatest moments from this past season. While it would be impossible to create an exhaustive list that captured every magical step of this journey, here are (in my opinion), the top 10 plays that stand above all others from the 2022 season:
10. Andre Cisco Takes a Jalen Hurts Interception to the House
While the Jaguars did not end up winning this week 4 showdown against the Eagles, Cisco’s play on the first Eagles’ possession had me as hyped as any other play this season when it happened. Coming off consecutive wins where the Jags bludgeoned the Colts and the Chargers, the team was set to prove itself against the undefeated Eagles.
On a 2nd-and-7 play, Darious Williams tipped a Hurts pass intended for WR Zach Pascal. Cisco snagged the tip out of the air and wove 59 yards through traffic along the Jaguars sideline to open the games’ scoring.
9. James Robinson Buries the Chargers with Week 3 TD Run
James Robinson’s time as a Jaguar came to an end only a few weeks after this game, but he left the fans with another great memory during the Week 3 game against the LA Chargers. Shortly after halftime, the Jaguars found themselves holding a 16-10 lead and facing 4th-and-1 at midfield.
Doug called on James Robinson, who delivered with a 50-yard touchdown run. This run completely broke the game open for Jacksonville, who rode the momentum from this play en route to a 38-10 beatdown of the Chargers.
8. Wingard Forces Key Fumble to Propel Jaguars Comeback vs. Ravens
After entering the 4th Quarter down by 9 points, the Jaguars capped a 7-minute drive with a touchdown that made the score 19-17. The Jaguars immediately capitalized on the momentum. On 1st-down and 10, Andrew Wingard came from behind to force a fumble from RB Gus Edwards.
This set the Jaguars up deep in Ravens territory and allowed them to take the lead on an easy field goal for Riley Patterson. These 3 points proved critical, as it positioned the Jaguars to win the game on the next possession off a clutch 2-point conversion. This win in particular was crucial, and looking back I personally feel the momentum of this comeback was one of the biggest sparks for the team's late-season run.
7. Zay Jones Takes the Top Off the Cowboy’s Defense
It felt like the same old Jaguars again. Following an emotion win in Nashville, the fanbases hopes rose and it felt like this team would once against fall short of meeting them. Down 27-10 in the 3rd Quarter, an anxious fanbase awaited something, anything, to indicate the Jaguars could pull this off. They got it.
Zay Jones broke on a disgusting double-move route that shook CB Kelvin Joseph and left him wide open. Trevor Lawrence rolled to his right out of the pocket, and delivered a perfect off-platform strike to the streaking WR. The 59-yard touchdown cut the score to 27-17, and completely altered momentum, setting the Jaguars on course to make the incredible 17-point comeback.
6. Trevor Lawrences Punishes Dylan Cole and Dives into the Endzone
Former Jags Lineman Leon Searcy said it best: I hate the Titans. The players clearly shared the sentiment this season, and no single play may have felt more hateful than Trevor Lawrence embarrassing Titans LB Dylan Cole. Knocking on the doorstep of the endzone and looking to extend the lead to 2 scores, Trevor Lawrence called his own number.
After pulling the handoff on a play that wasn't designed for him in the first place, Trevor broke outside and delivered a stiff-arm before diving into the endzone. Dylan Cole, the linebacker who fell victim to Trevor, was clearly broken and frustrated in his post-game interview. It was the signature moment for Trevor in a game that felt like held many signature moments.
5. Trevor Completes the Comeback with a TD and 2-pt Conversion vs. the Ravens
This drive to complete a 9-point 4th-quarter comeback was the first of what felt like 5 games that left Jaguars fans shouting that Trevor Lawrence has arrived. On this day, he certainly delivered. During a rough 5-game losing streak, the overwhelming sentiment was that the team, especially Trevor, just hadn't learned to win yet. He struggled in late game situations when he was under the pressure of delivering.
Trevor's perfectly placed pass gave Marvin Jones Jr. the chance to go up and make a toe-tap catch along the edge of endzone. The scored, pending the extra point, made it a 27-26 game. Instead of playing for overtime, Doug chased the win. Immediately following the TD, Lawrence delivered an absolute strike to Zay Jones for a 2-point conversion that gave the Jaguars the lead and effectively won them the game.
Relive all of Trevor Lawrence's coming out party here:
4. Shaq Quaterman Decleats Derrick Henry
For all the highlight reel plays it feels Derrick Henry has subjected us to over the past few years, it felt incredible to get one back on him. In the first meeting between the Jaguars and Titans, the early part of the game certainly made it seem as though it would be more of the same punishing run game.
However, all that quickly changed. Deep into the second quarter and up by 1, the Titans found themselves in Jacksonville territory. A short pass to Derrick Henry left him open and running down the sideline. Instead of stepping out, Henry chose to fight for more yards (understandably, because he is Derrick Henry, after all). As Henry fought a tackler to push up the sideline, backup linebacker Shaq Quarterman lowered a shoulder and delivered a punishing hit that lifted Derrick Henry and physically separated him from the ball.
I'm not kidding. The hit was so intense that it felt Henry was just removed from play and left the ball behind. Watch it here to relive it again for yourself:
3. Travis Etienne Ices the 3rd-Largest Comeback in Playoff History on 4th-and-1
27-0. That was the score with just minutes remaining before halftime of the Jaguars' first home playoff game in 5 years. Chargers, 27. Jaguars, nothing. After halftime, every drive became a scoring drive for Jacksonville. With one chance left to complete the third-biggest comeback in playoff history, the Jaguars faced 4th-and-1, down 30-28, and outside the range of K Riley Patterson.
Doug Pederson's offense broke out a throwback T-formation, putting 2 tight-ends in the backfield with Travis Etienne. I can't legitimately remember the last time I saw this formation run. Etienne took the handoff on an outside zone run, and broke it deep down the right sideline. Based on the audio alone, it feels like a bomb went off in Jacksonville. The electricity in the Bank was at an all-time high as the Jaguars positioned themselves to run the clock and ice the game with a chip-shot field goal. This play single-handedly sealed the 3rd-largest playoff comeback ever, and made the Jaguars the first team with the leagues' worst record to win a playoff game the following season. What a turnaround.
2. Josh Allen Scoops and Scores to Clinch the AFC South Division Title
I went back and forth on which of these top 2 plays should be number 1. You could make an argument for either one, but it should never take away from how special both moments were individually.
With an AFC South Title on the line on a Saturday Night in Jacksonville, Josh Allen sent the Jaguars to their playoff destiny. The hype of the game, the excitement of the fans, and the emotional roller coaster that this game and season put us through all felt they built up to this moment.
Down 3 points with less than 4 minutes remaining and a stagnating offense, the defense delivered big-time. Rayshawn Jenkins forced a fumble on Titans fill-in QB Josh Dobbs, and Josh Allen scooped up the loose ball and ran it 37 yards back for the game-clinching score. This touchdown gave the Jags a late lead they wouldn't lose, and brought home the first Division Championship since 2017, along with a satisfying defeat of the hated Titans. Relive the incredible moment as it happened here: https://youtu.be/f5eO2ymIPK0
1. Rayshawn Jenkins’ Walk-Off Pick 6 Against the Dallas Cowboys
What if I told you that Jenkins forced a fumble that won us the division, and it wasn't his best individual play of the season? That play came on December 18th in a Week 15 Overtime battle against the Dallas Cowboys.
A huge game against the NFL's biggest brand, with the team rounding into form for their chase-down of the Tennessee Titans. After crawling back from a 17-point deficit and overcoming what felt like a fate-sealing fumble by Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars pushed the game into overtime. After failing to threaten the Cowboys on our offensive possession, the Cowboys needed any score to clinch the game.
Staring down midfield and pushing towards the brink of field-goal range, it felt like the swarming comeback effort would fall just short. Instead, pressure on Dak Prescott on a 3rd-and-4 led to a slightly misplaced ball, the ricocheted away from the receiver and straight into the opportunistic hand of Jenkins. To the sound of a roaring Jacksonville crowd, Rayshawn Jenkins raced 52 yards back down the sideline and breathed final life into one of the most exciting games in franchise history. If it couldn't get any better, Frank Frangie delivered an incredible radio call that will live in my head forever: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UILp3o8Qoxs
This year was certainly exciting, and these moments don’t even do the whole story justice. Deciding which plays belonged on the list was incredibly difficult, and it pained me to not be able to include certain moments.
The list fails to capture more plays that will take a long time to forget. The list misses the Zay Jones’ circus-act toe-tap TD to close the half in Tennessee, and doesn’t even include any plays from the 24-0 shutout of the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, a 17-point comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders, or a crucial primetime victory against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.
There are more great moments from this year that will be forgotten, than good moments from the two seasons prior that we will hold on to. The lovable personalities of the first playoff team in Duval County since 2017 has all but erased the pain that came from consecutive seasons picking #1 overall and the drama (catastrophe) of Urban Meyer.
As a fanbase, we can surely be more excited than ever knowing that the upcoming years should hold even more Jaguar success and even more incredible memories.
What a great season! So many potential top ten options. It seems like this team really started to believe in themselves and make some great plays!