It’s very rare we see moments in the NFL that feel like high school football, but Thursday night gave us that feeling in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 33-10 trounce of the Baltimore Ravens to kick off Week 9.
The Jaguars were heavily favored going into the game, as third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano, who took over as the team’s emergency signal caller last week following the injuries to both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, got his first career start.
Yes, the Ravens traded for Jacoby Brissett when the Arizona Cardinals demoted him to third string earlier this week, but he wasn’t ready on a short week to take over Declan Doyle’s offense and compete.
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But, boy, does Brissett need to get right quickly if the Ravens have any hope of reaching the playoffs.
That’s the biggest takeaway from this game, because the Jaguars didn’t really need to do all too much after scoring on their opening drive of the game. It was clear Doyle was going to be creative, or as much as he possibly could, with Fagnano very green under center.
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However, Fagnano, despite being a fun story to begin a new week in the NFL, isn’t what the Ravens need after a devastating injury to the two-time MVP in Jackson and Huntley going down.
Brissett is the only saving grace for a Ravens season that almost seems at the brink of disaster even though they only fell to 4-4 on the year.
Fagnano was 10-of-18 passing for only 80 yards, as some heavy rain in Baltimore didn’t help the fact that Jacksonville was all over what the Ravens were trying to do in the first place. The ball was wet, leading to a few fumbles, while Fagnano couldn’t handle the pressure the Jaguars threw at him on his clear pass downs, leading to two interceptions.
The body language on the Baltimore sideline was clear – it wasn’t going to be their night.
Meanwhile, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars looked clean and poised coming off the bye week. Bhayshul Tuten, who was questionable entering the game due to injury, suited up and scored the first touchdown of the game. Then, Lawrence found Parker Washington before the end of the first half on a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown that almost felt like a kill shot after what we witnessed with the Ravens’ offense in half.
At 17-3 to start the second half, Fagnano threw his first interception, followed by two punts, a turnover-on-downs, his second interception, and a fumble on the kickoff.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. smashed it in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that made it 33-3, and if it weren’t for Justice Hill’s 65-yard run on the ensuing drive, Baltimore likely wouldn’t have sniffed the end zone in a game they’ll look to forget and move on to next week.
With a meeting against the lowly Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” upcoming, Brissett has more than enough time to get acclimated.
Because for Ravens fans, that’s really the only thing to look forward to as they hope and pray his passing prowess can get them back to being a playoff team after losing their last four.