Jaguars Cruise Past Ravens 33-10 Behind Trevor Lawrence and a Young Ravens Backup
The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Baltimore Ravens 33-10 on Thursday night, improving to 6-2 and dropping Baltimore to 4-5.
Jacksonville took control early. Bhayshul Tuten finished Jacksonville's 77-yard opening drive with a one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Trevor Lawrence then threw a 50-yard touchdown to Parker Washington with 58 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Jaguars led 17-3 at halftime.
Lawrence finished with 242 passing yards and a touchdown. Chris Rodriguez Jr. added a two-yard touchdown run with 7:26 left in the game to push the lead to 33-3.
The Ravens were without their starting quarterback. Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley were both on injured reserve, a list that keeps a player out of games for a set minimum period. That put Joe Fagnano in charge. He is an undrafted rookie, meaning no team picked him in the NFL draft, and he made his first career start at quarterback.
Fagnano completed 10 of 18 passes for 60 yards. Two of his throws were intercepted in the second half. He became the second undrafted rookie quarterback in Baltimore history to start a game, joining Anthony Brown, who did it in 2022.
Baltimore did find some success on the ground. Justice Hill finished with 85 yards on nine carries, and his 65-yard touchdown run was Baltimore's first touchdown after halftime since Week 5. The run also broke a streak. Jacksonville had gone 24 games without allowing a rusher to gain 75 yards, and Hill's carry ended it.
For Jacksonville, the win keeps a good stretch going. The Jaguars have won five of their last six games and hold a three-and-a-half-game lead in the AFC South, the division that includes Houston, Indianapolis and Tennessee. Coming into the game, they had already posted three wins by 24 or more points this season.
Thursday games are short on rest. Teams play with fewer days to recover and prepare, which can make a young backup quarterback's first start especially tough. Fagnano's night showed both sides of that: some competitive moments on Baltimore's ground game, and a pair of second-half interceptions that let Jacksonville stay in control.
Baltimore now has to find answers at quarterback with Jackson and Huntley sidelined. Jacksonville, meanwhile, returns to the weekly grind with a clear lead in its division and a new benchmark to hold itself to.
