Jaguars vs. Ravens score, takeaways: Baltimore runs all over slumping Jacksonville to clinch postseason berth

The Ravens are still the No. 1 seed in the AFC

The Baltimore Ravens wanted to make a statement they are the best team in the AFC. Baltimore certainly lived up to that billing with a 23-7 dismantling of the Jacksonville Jaguars on "Sunday Night Football," keeping possession of the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the victory. The Ravens also clinched a playoff berth with the win. 

Baltimore rushed for 251 yards in the victory, while the defense held Jacksonville to just one touchdown and forced two Trevor Lawrence fumbles in the win. Lamar Jackson finished 14 of 24 for 171 yards with a touchdown while leading the Ravens with 97 rushing yards. Jackson led three Ravens scoring drives in the fourth quarter and Baltimore outscored the Jaguars 13-0 in the final frame. 

Baltimore got a short touchdown run from Gus Edwards to take a 17-7 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Edwards finished with 58 yards rushing, becoming the top running back after Keaton Mitchell left the game with a knee injury. Mitchell finished the night with 73 yards and averaged 8.1 yards per carry. Justin Tucker hit field goals of 26 and 34 yards to extend the Ravens' lead to 23-7 as they outgained the Jaguars 111 to 57 in the final quarter. Baltimore had over 200 rushing yards in the second half. 

The Jaguars fall to 8-6 and are tied with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans for first in the AFC South with the loss. Jacksonville has lost three consecutive games. 

Why the Ravens won

Baltimore imposed its will on the ground against Jacksonville on the ground in the second half, rushing for 204 yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Lamar Jackson had seven carries for 67 yards in the second half while Keaton Mitchell had seven carries for 70 yards before going down with a serious knee injury. The Ravens dominated the second half because of all the yards gained on the ground (they only completed three passes). The Ravens finished with 251 rushing yards on the night. 

Why the Jaguars lost

Miscues across the board significantly cost Jacksonville. Two Trevor Lawrence fumbles were not good for a Jaguars team that struggled to score points. Lawrence had his first fumble at the Ravens' 23-yard line when trying to exchange hands with the football in the first half, costing points in a 3-0 game. The second fumble came deep in his own territory on a Justin Madubuike sack when the game was still 20-7, essentially sealing the Ravens' win. Add two Brandon McManus field goal misses (in less than ideal weather) and the Jaguars found ways to stay off the scoreboard. 

We'll get to Lawrence's major blunder shortly. The final score should have been closer. 

Turning point

Trevor Lawrence not spiking the ball with 11 seconds left in the first half after Zay Jones' catch and deciding to throw a pass with no timeouts left was a crushing blow. Jones made an amazing grab to get the Jaguars to the Ravens' 5-yard line with 18 seconds left. Lawrence went into shotgun and didn't spike the ball, throwing the pass to Parker Washington -- who caught the pass and was tackled inbounds.

The clock run out and the half ended as a shower of boos rained on the Jaguars. This was a major miscue by Lawrence that cost the Jaguars three points in a 10-0 game. 

Play of the game

Lamar Jackson somehow avoided Dawuane Smoot twice on a second-and-6 play in the final minute of the third quarter that led to an incredible completion to Isaiah Likely. Smoot had Jackson easily in the backfield before the Ravens quarterback escaped and rolled to his right. 

Smoot hit Jackson as he threw across his body into double coverage and Likely came up with the 26-yard completion that took Baltimore to the Jacksonville 4-yard line. Smoot asked Jackson how he did that immediately after the play, as the Ravens scored on a Gus Edwards touchdown two plays later.

This was one of the finest plays of Jackson's career. He has a knack for making them in prime time. 

The quote

"Do I look calm?! I'm not trying to make a mistake. I'm trying to get positive yards and keep things moving. That's what we had to do tonight." -- Lamar Jackson on eluding rushers throughout a game, which he ended up with 97 yards rushing and eluded Smoot twice to make the throw of the night.  

Up next

The Ravens will head to San Francisco to face the 49ers on Christmas night in a matchup between the AFC and NFC top seeds and a potential Super Bowl preview. The Jaguars travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers on Christmas Eve. 

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Lawrence *almost* got clocked on the blitz, and then Etienne *almost* broke free of Roquan Smith. Neither happened, so it ended up in third-and-short, but a false start farther backs up the Jags.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:20 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ravens did a good job of picking up that blitz on third down, but there was nowhere for Lamar to go with the ball on his first read, so he had to take a shot to Bateman in a one-on-one, but threw it out of bounds.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:17 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Lamar can just bounce around in the pocket forever looking for somewhere to go with the ball, and even if the defenses converges on him, just escape for a first down. What an incredible athlete.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:12 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Hard to believe that was the longest TD pass of Trevor Lawrence's career. 65 yards to Jamal Agnew and the Jaguars are back in this thing. 

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jamal Agnew now has the two biggest plays of the night for Jacksonville. He had a long kick return that set up the failed one-minute drive at the end of the half, and now he hits for a 65-yard touchdown on a wheel route. We've got a ball game.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:10 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Only 17 yards for Evan Engram on his three targets. He's Jacksonville's leading receiver this season as Christian Kirk has now missed a couple games and Calvin Ridley has been inconsistent. And as I type this, Engram catches another and picks up a first down.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:04 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

First catch and target of the night for Zay Flowers, who has been excellent without Mark Andrews. Surprised he hasn't been more involved in this one, especially with Jacksonville shorthanded in the secondary. Alas, Flowers' grab is for naught as Rayshawn Jenkins makes another big play -- this time a sack.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 10:00 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Ravens' usage (or lack thereof) of Keaton Mitchell is interesting. They keep saying they want to get him more involved, but also not getting him more involved. He has game-breaking speed, and should probably be more involved for that reason.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:43 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Well that is a huge missed opportunity.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:36 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Isaiah Likely is becoming a factor in this passing game. Stepped up in place of Mark Andrews over the last few games. That TD catch was a massive one for the Ravens with 1:12 left in the first half. 3 catches for 40 yards for Likely and it's 10-0 Ravens. 

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:35 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

And they find the end zone on the next snap anyway. Isaiah Likely up the seam on a double post concept and Lamar made a perfect throw.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:34 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

I was about to say that assuming they can actually get into the end zone on one of these next two plays, getting stopped short of the goal line on first down was actually good for the Ravens because they could run more clock, but that penalty on Simpson is brutal.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:28 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Lamar Jackson is doing it all tonight for Baltimore. leads the Ravens in rushing (30 yards) and making clutch throw after clutch throw under pressure on this drive. Even with the turnover, he's the reason they're up 3 right now. 

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:24 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Man, what a throw under pressure. Got absolutely drilled and still found Odell Beckham on the second window slant. Ravens will try to add to their lead after the two-minute warning.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:21 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The reason Jackson thought he could make the throw back across his body on the previous drive, is because he actually can make that throw. And when he does, it's back-breaking for a defense.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:17 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Jaguars have to be kicking themselves right now Two missed field goals, and now a fumble deep in Ravens territory. They should be leading right now, but instead they're still scoreless.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:16 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

What on earth happened to Lawrence there???? Did he drop the ball while trying to switch it from one arm to the other?

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Kyle Hamilton gave Ridley a nice cushion in the slot, and Ridley used it to hit a double-move on the outside to pick up that big fourth-down conversion. Can the Jags finally capitalize on a scoring opportunity?

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:08 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bad decision right there by Lamar. He had a wide-open receiver right in front of him for a first down but tried to throw back over the middle and Rayshawn Jenkins jumped the route.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:05 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Ridley had a half-step on Arthur Maulet there, but Lawrence was just a little bit off with the throw. If it was accurate, though, it might have been picked because there was a safety screaming over the top... and then Brandon McManus misses his second long kick of the night. Missed opportunities for Jacksonville.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 9:01 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Kyle Hamilton JUST missed a pick on that throw to Zay Jones. When you have Trevor Lawrence's arm strength, I guess you can make that type of pass. Sheesh.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 8:54 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Lamar was dropped for minimal gain on back-to-back zone read runs and then sacked by Travon Walker. Quite the drive for Jacksonville's defense.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 8:48 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Baltimore changes its coverage shells more often than almost any other team in the league. When the Ravens go to split safeties like they did just now, you have to be able to hit that seam ball like Lawrence just did. It's a tough throw to get it up over the linebackers and down before the safeties, but it's necessary to survive against these units.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 8:43 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

4-of-6 for 60 yards on that drive, but it felt like Jackson left some meat on the bone. Let's see what the Ravens defense does on this drive. 

[Dec 17, 2023 at 8:39 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Looked like Lamar was trying to get that ball to Keaton Mitchell in the flat, but the hit from Josh Allen prevented the ball from getting close enough to the receiver to avoid the intentional grounding call. Alas, Justin Tucker knocks the field goal through and the Ravens lead 3-0.

[Dec 17, 2023 at 8:36 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

This is a classic Lamar drive. Making plays both within and outside of structure, working from the pocket and escaping with his legs. Ravens are quickly in business in the red zone.