Lethargic Jaguars Self-Destruct in Loss to Oakland

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders played one of the ugliest games in recent memory on Sunday, featuring three ejections, a combined for 239 penalty yards and poor offensive halves for each team. When the dust settled, the Raiders came away with a 33-16 win and it wasn’t even that close.

Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski was 4-for-4 on Field goals in the game and helped the Raiders to a 3-0 lead at with a 26-yard field goal with 9:08 left in the first quarter.

Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles looked good on the Jaguars ensuing drive, using his feet for gains of 17 and 11 yards. Later in the drive on a 3^rd-and-7 from the Oakland 18, Bortles threw one into the end zone, intended for Marqise Lee, but the ball was picked off and Oakland took over.

With 14:55 left in the second quarter, Janikowski was good again from 32 yards out, putting the visitors up 6-0. Jacksonville answered on the next drive, helped by a pass interference call and a 42-yard run by Chris Ivory, Jason Myers hit from 23 yards out, cutting the lead in half.

That drive stalled at the five-yard line and prolonged the Jaguars struggles in the red zone. It was an early indication that the Jaguars were in for a long day.

Oakland (5-2) extended their lead to 13-3 on their next drive, thanks to an 11-play 75-yard trip down the field. Jacksonville answered on the ensuing drive, highlighted by a 38 yard Bortles to Lee connection. The drive stalled at the 19, despite the Jaguars getting to the nine, before a penalty sent them back. With that Myers kicked a 37-yard field goal, cutting the Raiders lead to 13-6.

Oakland took over with 1:49 left and the Jaguars looked like they might get out of the half with no further damage, that was until Oakland quarterback Derek Carr threw a bomb to Michael Crabtree on 3^rd-and-5, good for 56 yards down to the two-yard line. Crabtree would catch a touchdown a few plays later, upping the Raiders lead to 20-6.

Bortles finished the first half 5-of-14 passing in the first half and had 103 yards passing through three quarters. He did pick things up in the fourth quarter, while the Raiders offense shut down, putting up less than 40 yards for much of the second half.

By then, it didn’t matter, because it was a penalty fest in the fourth quarter and any chance of a Jaguars comeback was gone long before that. The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, making it a 23-9 contest with 15 minutes left.

The meltdown started with 14:16 left in the game. After Carr completed a 10-yard pass, Jaguars high-priced defender Malik Jackson was called for roughing the passer. It was a very questionable call at best and Jackson had a right to be angry, but he needed to go back to the huddle. He didn’t, instead he was called for unsportsmanlike-conduct, using abusive language toward an official.

The drive ended with a Janikowski 52-yard field goal, making it 26-9 and Jackson kept talking. He was flagged for another unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and was dismissed from the proceedings by referee Jeff Triplette and his flag-happy officiating crew.

After an Oakland punt, Jacksonville was victimized by Triplette again, when he failed to blow the whistle on a clear defensive off-sides by the Raiders. Bortles, thinking the play was dead, spiked the ball into the ground and was called for intentional grounding. Bortles was visibly upset, which is not his nature.

Bortles and the Jaguars overcame that, as they finished the 11-play 83-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown from Bortles to tight end Julius Thomas, making it a 26-16 lead. Carr Came right back on the ensuing Oakland drive, using eight plays and 1:37 off the clock. Latavius Murray’s four-yard run was his second touchdown of the day and put the Raiders up by their winning margin.

With 3:42 left in the game, Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Raiders receiver Johnny Holton were ejected for fighting. The Jaguars were flagged 13 times for 112 yards, while the Raiders were called for 11, totaling 117.

For more info: Oakland @ Jacksonville Box Score

Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio spent nine years as the head man in Jacksonville and came back to burn his former team. The win moved Oakland to 4-0 on the road and was the third straight loss at Ever Bank Field for the Jaguars, who are now 14-40 under Gus Bradley.

Bortles ended the day 23-of-43 for 246 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Carr was 23-of-37 for 200 yards.

The Jaguars won’t have much time to dwell on this one, as they will travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans in this week’s Thursday night game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m.

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