Jacksonville Jaguars fight off late comeback from the New Orleans Saints in 31-24 win as Trevor Lawrence overcomes pain of knee injury
The Jacksonville Jaguars battled off a late comeback from the New Orleans Saints in a 31-24 win on ‘Thursday Night Football.’
Starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence played through the pain of a sprained knee to help lead Jacksonville to a well-deserved win.
Lawrence was considered a question mark all week after the injury forced him to leave the Week 6 game against the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter, and his status as a starter was not confirmed until shortly before game time.
Jacksonville’s defense dominated the game for most of the evening after not allowing New Orleans to reach the end zone until the fourth quarter.
Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. picked up two rushing touchdowns during the game, bringing his total to seven for the season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football
The starting quarterback overcame a knee sprain to help lead his team to victory
Jaguars running backs had a great night. Travis Etienne Jr. picked up two touchdowns in the win
Other than wearing a knee brace on his injured left knee, Lawrence showed few ill effects from his injury throughout the night.
He went 20 – 29 for 204 yards, a passing touchdown and even picked up 59 rushing yards on eight carries to lead the Jaguars on the ground.
Many expected his mobility to be severely affected had he played, although it clearly remained intact enough to impact the Saints defense.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr, on the other hand seemed frustrated at several points throughout the night, as the New Orleans offense was largely ineffective until its late comeback attempt.
Carr went 33-55 for 301 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Taysom Hill was the first member of the Saints to reach the end zone before Michael Thomas hauled in a touchdown pass from Carr, ending the game late.
Carr had stayed briefly on a play in the fourth and was attended to by trainers with what appeared to be a groin problem before returning to start the next possession.
Jacksonville was able to regain the lead when Christian Kirk hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass.
New Orleans gave everything it had to get back into the end zone one last time, but fell six yards short after a pass that would have given them a chance to tie again was dropped by tight end Foster Moreau.