The Jaguars have largely controlled the ball and the clock against the Jets on Thursday night and hold a 13-3 lead at halftime.
After a rocky start with a strip-sack that led to a Jets field goal, quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been playing well. The Jaguars scored on three consecutive possessions, first getting a 32-yard field goal. Then Lawrence leaped over the line to score a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 16-play, 96-yard drive that took 8:15 off the clock. Riley Patterson also hit a 45-yard field goal to make it 13-3, though he missed a 44-yard attempt wide left.
Despite rainy conditions that picked up over the course of the first half, Lawrence is 11-of-16 for 147 yards and has 41 yards rushing. Travis Etienne has 64 yards on 17 carries. Tight end Evan Engram has caught all five of his targets for 83 yards.
After missing last week with a calf injury, Quinnen Williams helped get the Jets on the board first when he strip-sacked Lawrence to end Jacksonville’s first drive. Defensive lineman Carl Lawson picked up the loose ball to give New York an extra possession.
But even as they started with the ball on Jacksonville’s 16-yard line, New York could only manage a field goal. Quarterback Zach Wilson was sacked on third down by Andrew Cisco, so Greg Zuerlein sent a 37-yard field goal through the uprights for an early 3-0 advantage.
That was a harbinger of what was to be for the rest of the first half for New York’s offense. Wilson finished the first half 7-of-14 passing for 78 yards with an interception. But the bigger problem might be that the Jets have rushed the ball five times for just 4 yards.
Managing only three first downs, Wilson and the New York offense were booed at different points in the first half. But the boos rained down hard as the team went into halftime.
The Jets are slated to get the ball first to start the second half.
