Results don’t come more spectacular than the Jaguars’ last gasp win over the Ravens in Week 12. The Jaguars found themselves trailing 27-20 with just 2:02 left on the clock. They got the ball back at their own 25-yard line, with just one timeout left. At the outset of the drive, the Ravens had a 93.3% chance of winning the game, per ESPN.
What happened next will live long in the memory of Jaguars fans and players alike. Trevor Lawrence took Jacksonville on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, scoring a touchdown and then scoring a two-point conversion to take the lead with just 15 seconds left on the clock. This was a special drive from the second-year quarterback that showed why he was taken No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Let’s dive into the film and look at all 11 plays from that special drive.
Play 1 – An unfortunate drop
For such a special drive, things didn’t exactly get off to an ideal start. The Jaguars have a pretty simple play drawn up to kick things off, aiming to pick up a few easy yards and get themselves in a good spot for second down. Zay Jones motions across the field, creating a 2×2 formation. From his outside receiver spot he runs a stop route. Lawrence holds up his end of the bargain, delivering an accurate ball with good velocity, but unfortunately Jones fails to haul it in.
Play 2 – A near-disaster
For as good as Lawrence was in this game and through recent weeks, this play nearly cost them the game. I’m sure that when he looks back on the tape he will be wishing things went differently here. The Jaguars have called the Dagger concept. This involves a go route from the inside receiver, which clears out space for a dig route from the outside receiver. From the other side of the field you have a receiver running a drag route across the middle of the field.
The progression here is simple. The quarterback treats the dig and drag routes as a high-low. His decision on where to throw the ball will be based on how the defense commits its resources. If they have both locked down, he should get to his checkdown with his running back.
On this play you can see why Lawrence starts to panic. He is reading Roquan Smith (#18) and when he sinks to cover the dig, Lawrence thinks the drag is open. Before he can throw it, he sees Marlon Humphrey (#44) sitting shallow and ready to blow up any throw to the receiver on the drag. Rather than get to his checkdown, Lawrence panics and almost costs the Jaguars the game.
Play 3 – Keeping the game alive
At this point it is 3rd and 21 and any chance of winning this game seems to have vanished for the Jaguars. With that in mind, Doug Pederson deserves some credit for this play call. A lot of teams would try a big play to pick up all 21 yards and get another first down. Instead, Pederson knows that the Ravens will be defending the sticks, and instead sends all of his receivers on shorter routes.
This results in Christian Kirk finding himself in acres of space over the middle of the field and Lawrence delivers a good ball. This allows them to pick up 16 of the 21 yards they needed, putting them in a manageable 4th and 5.
Play 4 – A perfect throw under pressure
Everyone always says that the best players step up when the lights shine the brightest. This play is a perfect example of Lawrence doing just that. This was a huge play for Jacksonville, as they needed five yards to keep the drive, and the game, alive.
The Ravens are showing a blitz, with their two linebackers walked up on the line of scrimmage. Just before the snap, safety Chuck Clark (#36) is also creeping closer, representing another potential rusher. This all looks like it gives the Jaguars one-on-one matchups on the outside, which is exactly what Lawrence wants.
The Jaguars snap the ball, and the Ravens send a blitz whilst dropping a number of potential rushers back into coverage. The offensive line handles this fairly well, although Patrick Queen (#6) is able to break through before running back JaMycal Hasty can contain him. This prevents Lawrence from setting his feet, but it doesn’t make a difference. Despite the pressure in his face, he delivers a great ball to Marvin Jones for a first down.
Play 5 – An errant throw
Unfortunately, Lawrence couldn’t follow that last play up with another good one. This time the Jaguars look to take advantage of the Ravens’ soft coverage with another stop route. This time, Lawrence sails the throw which goes way past a waiting Zay Jones and out of bounds.
Play 6 – A beautiful dig route
We’re back to the good stuff with this one! Everything here from Lawrence is excellent. The primary read here is the dig route to Christian Kirk over the middle of the field. The Ravens are showing a two-high shell before the snap and Lawrence knows that this play will work if they keep that shell post-snap.
As soon as he snaps the ball you can see his focus on the boundary-side safety Chuck Clark (#36) to check for any rotation. As soon as he realises this is still a two-high shell, he knows that the dig route will be open. His footwork in the pocket is excellent here and he also shows willingness to throw the ball with anticipation. The result is a rocket to Kirk for a sizeable 17-yard gain.
Play 7 – The out route (again)
Remember the out route the Jaguars ran to Zay Jones a few plays earlier to take advantage of soft zone coverage? It’s back! The Ravens know that they can’t get beaten deep and the Jaguars are all too willing to take what the defense is giving them.
Once again, we see some clean and refined footwork from Lawrence in the pocket. He delivers another great ball to Jones in good time, allowing his receiver to make the catch and get out of bounds to stop the clock.
Play 8 – The Sail concept
After a false start from JaMycal Hasty, the Jaguars find themselves in a 2nd and 7. On this play they have a Sail concept called to the boundary side. This is a staple NFL concept and includes a receiver running a go route as a clear-out, making space for a deep out or corner route behind it. In this case the Jaguars have added a swing route to the running back, effectively creating a high-low read on the boundary cornerback.
As expected, the cornerback is prioritising defending deeper routes and has the corner route locked down. Lawrence shows good awareness of the ticking clock and doesn’t hesitate in getting the ball out to his back. The gain is minimal, but it was a sensible throw in the circumstances.
Play 9 – The out-and-up
Here is where things start to get really special. The Jaguars line up in a 3×1 formation, with the trips to the field side. The Ravens know that this is where the threat lies and just before the snap, Roquan Smith drops back to help flood that side of the field and give Baltimore a numbers advantage.
This is where the playcalling expertise of Doug Pederson calls in. He knows that the Ravens will be expecting them to target the sideline to stop the game clock. With that in mind, he does the exact opposite.
Zay Jones begins by running what appears to be an out route. This is exactly what the defense is expecting. With Lawrence also lining up as if he is about to throw, you can see Brandon Stephens (#21) start to break on the route. In reality, he is running an out-and-up, and quickly plants his foot and shoots vertical. He beats his man and Lawrence delivers a dime of a throw for a massive 29-yard gain.
Play 10 – Goal line fades
That last throw was spectacular, but this one might have been even better. With the game clock still ticking and less than 20 seconds left, the Jaguars knew that they needed a touchdown on this play. Their play call is a simple one. The two outside receivers are running fade routes into the end zone. Lawrence is responsible for reading the safeties post-snap and picking the best matchup.
You will notice that as soon as he snaps the ball, he scans to the left side. With the safety to that side playing over the numbers, he knows this will be a very difficult throw. He smartly turns to his right, where the safety is playing much narrower. Without any hesitation he lofts a beautiful ball down the sideline to Marvin Jones. The combination of touch and placement are perfect here and allow Jones to make a spectacular catch before somehow coming down inbounds.
Play 11 – The two-point conversion
That touchdown left the Jaguars trailing by a point with seconds remaining. Instead of playing for overtime, they made the aggressive move to win it in regulation with a two-point conversion. The play call itself was fairly simple. The Jaguars use Zay Jones in motion to confirm whether it is man or zone. With the secondary communicating the shift and moving over, the Jaguars know it is man coverage.
At this point they just need Zay Jones to beat his man, which he does brilliantly here. Lawrence then has to deliver a tricky ball into tight coverage, but he seemingly has no issue doing so. The Jaguars convert the two-point attempt and win the game.
Many have identified this game as when Trevor Lawrence really announced his presence on the NFL stage. In truth, if you’ve been looking closely enough this season you will have been seeing these signs for some time. His connection with Doug Pederson now seems to be reaching new levels and the future certainly appears bright for Jacksonville.
