JACKSONVILLE – They fought, they scrapped and they rallied.
Most importantly, the Jaguars won.
Josh Lambo's 30-yard field goal in overtime came after an interception return by cornerback A.J. Bouye, giving the Jaguars a dramatic, come-from-behind 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at EverBank Field Sunday afternoon.
Bouye intercepted a deep pass from Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and returned it 51 yards to the Chargers 2. Jaguars cornerback Aaron Colvin was penalized for taunting on the play, moving the ball to the Chargers 17.
Lambo's field goal came three plays later.
The victory snapped a six-game winning streak for the Chargers against the Jaguars. The Jaguars improved to 6-3 with the victory. The Chargers fell to 3-6.
Lambo's 34-yard field goal with :03 remaining sent the game into overtime after a wild final few minutes. Kicker Nick Novak's 50-yard field goal had given the Chargers a 17-14 lead with 10:27 remaining.
After safety Tashaun Gipson recovered a fumble to give the Jaguars possession at the Chargers 36, Bortles was intercepted by Chargers safety Tre Boston with 1:24 remaining. That was Boston's second interception off Bortles of the quarter, and came after Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee's 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty moved the Jaguars from the Chargers 22 to the 37.
Gipson had appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown after his recovery, but the touchdown was reversed when officials determined he was down when he recovered the fumble.
The Jaguars' defense held on downs after Boston's second interception, and Bortles drove the Jaguars to set up Lambo's tying field goal.
The Jaguars had taken possession again with just over a minute remaining. Bortles' pass to first-year veteran Jaydon Mickens gave the Jaguars a first down at the Chargers 35 with :50 remaining. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa moved the Jaguars to the Chargers 20.
Bortles, under pressure throughout much of the game, rallied the Jaguars with an impressive third-quarter drive. With the Jaguars trailing 14-6, the Jaguars drove 84 yards.
Bortles completed seven of 11 passes for 84 yards on the drive, with his six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lee making it 14-12 and his two-point pass to Lee making it 14-14 with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Rivers, who had led the Chargers to the six consecutive victories against the Jaguars, threw touchdown passes to wide receiver Austin Ekeler late in the second quarter and early in the third to turn a 6-0 Los Angeles deficit into a 14-6 lead.
Rivers completed 21 of 37 passes for 235 yards with two touchdowns and interception.
Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette, playing after missing two consecutive games, rushed for just 33 yards on 17 carries. The Jaguars rushed for 135 yards as a team.
Step by step:
*The Jaguars took a 6-0 lead when reserve running back Corey Grant scored on a 56-yard run with a fake punt with :24 remaining in the first quarter. Lambo's low point-after was blocked. All other possessions by both teams in the first quarter ended with a punt, and the Jaguars held a 124-37 total-yardage advantage entering the second quarter. The Chargers had one first-quarter first down.
*The second quarter was as defense-oriented as the first, with the difference-making drive coming late in the half. The Chargers drove 87 yards, a possession capped when Ekeler turned a short pass from Rivers into a 28-yard touchdown and a 7-6 Chargers lead with :37 remaining in the half. Los Angeles had 133 total yards in the second quarter and Jacksonville had 36.
*Rivers' second touchdown pass to Ekeler was for 22 yards and gave the Chargers a 14-6 lead with 10:29 remaining in the third quarter. That came after Los Angeles forced a Jaguars punt on the first drive of the half. The Jaguars tied it later in the quarter when Bortles followed his six-yard touchdown pass to Lee with a two-point conversion pass to Lee.
Notable: The Jaguars' defense has held opponents scoreless on eight of nine opening drives this season, with exception being a field goal by Pittsburgh in Week 5. … The Jaguars had all four of their running backs – Fournette, Ivory, Grant and T.J. Yeldon – active on Sunday; Yeldon had been inactive for the first six games of the season with Fournette inactive for the last two. … Right tackle Josh Wells made his first career start, replacing Jermey Parnell (knee) in the lineup. … Right guard A.J. Cann (triceps) and left guard Patrick Omameh (knee) both started, as did wide receiver Marqise Lee (knee); all three were questionable on the final injury report of the week Friday. … With Cann starting after missing last Sunday's victory over Cincinnati, Brandon Linder started at center; Linder had started at guard in place of Cann with Tyler Shatley starting at center against the Bengals. Shatley replaced Omameh in the second half. …
Injury report: Jaguars long snapper Matt Overton left the game with a right shoulder injury; fullback Tommy Bohanon replaced him at long snapper on punts and Tyler Shatley replaced him as snapper on placekicks. … Jaguars wide receiver Arrelious Benn sustained a first-quarter knee injury and did not return. … Parnell missed Sunday after starting the Jaguars' last 24 games; the Jaguars other inactives Sunday were wide receiver Jaelen Strong, cornerback Jalen Myrick, nose tackle Eli Ankou, guard Chris Reed, offensive lineman William Poehls and defensive tackle Sheldon Day. …
What's next: The Jaguars are scheduled to play the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, November 19 at 1 p.m.
