Yet another quarterback change had minimal effect.
An inexperienced, beat-up defense continued to struggle, too – and those two factors combined for another difficult day for the Jaguars.
Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II, starting for the first time in eight weeks, struggled against an aggressive defense and the Baltimore Ravens' offense overwhelmed the Jaguars' defense throughout a 40-14 Ravens victory at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., Sunday afternoon.
"I can tell you what I told them in the locker room: 'Hey listen, we came out here today and this team was clearly the better team today,''' Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone said. "There are some things, obviously, I thought we did well.
"But for the most part, I'm not going to point those out. Obviously, we weren't good enough in all these phases."
The Jaguars (1-13) tied a franchise record with their 13th consecutive loss after a Week 1 victory. The Ravens (9-5) won their third consecutive game.
"It's still pretty fresh, but we're definitely going to try to put it behind us," Minshew said shortly after the Jaguars' second one-sided loss in as many weeks. "I think there's an opportunity to learn from it, as there is with every game. But man, we have to move forward, find a sense of optimism and belief that we can go win these next two."
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player, completed 17 of 22 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns with one interception – and also rushed 10 times for 35 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens outgained the Jaguars, 409-267, and held the Jaguars to 61 first-half yards.
That dominant early defense helped Baltimore take a 26-0 halftime lead. Jaguars safety Josh Jones intercepted Jackson on the game's first possession, but Ravens strong-side linebacker Matthew Judon ended the Jaguars' next possession with a safety.
Baltimore scored 24 points – a four-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to wide receiver Miles Boykin, a two-yard run by running back J.K. Dobbins, a 46-yard field goal by Justin Tucker and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to wide receiver Dez Bryant – on its next four possessions in a dominant first half.
Minshew, starting for the first time since Week 7 in late October, completed 22 of 29 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He passed for 41 yards before the Ravens extended the lead to 26 points and threw his two touchdown passes in the second half.
The Ravens sacked him five times, including the first-quarter safety – and including two sacks by former Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Four of the Ravens' sacks came in the first half.
"I think we came into halftime, we said we're not going to look at this statistically, forget the score, we're going to try to get little wins where we can and that's what we tried to do in the second half," Minshew said.
The Ravens sacked him Minshew times, including the first-quarter safety – and including two sacks by former Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Four of the Ravens' sacks came in the first half.
Minshew's start Sunday was the fourth quarterback change of the season for the Jaguars. He started Games 1-7, with rookie Jake Luton starting Games 8-10 and veteran Mike Glennon starting Games 11-13 before Minshew replaced him in the third quarter of a loss to the Tennessee Titans last week.
The Jaguars sacked Jackson once, with defensive end Dawuane Smoot sacking him in the second half. Jones' interception was their lone takeaway.
Step by step:
*The Ravens took an early 2-0 lead when Judon sacked Minshew in the end zone with 10:57 remaining in the first quarter; Judon sacked Minshew on 2nd-and-8 from the Jaguars 3, a play that came two plays after Jones' interception. The Ravens drove 68 yards on seven plays after the ensuing kick, pushing the lead to 9-0 when Jackson passed four yards to Boykin with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter.
*The Ravens' dominance continued on the series after Boykin's touchdown, with the Ravens driving 49 yards on six plays and taking a 16-0 lead when Dobbins scored untouched on a two-yard run with 14:14 remaining in the half; the drive began when Minshew was sacked by linebacker Patrick Queen on 4th-and-5 from the Ravens 47. Tucker's 46-yard field goal pushed the lead to 19-0 with 7:44 remaining in the second quarter. Jackson's 11-yard touchdown pass to Bryant came with 1:20 remaining in the second quarter and made it 26-0, Ravens.
*Minshew completed a 17-yard pass to rookie running back James Robinson on the first possession of the second half, cutting the lead to 26-7 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter; it was Robinson's 10th touchdown of the season. The Ravens immediately pushed the lead back to 26 with a five-yard touchdown run by Jackson with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter.
*The Ravens pushed the lead to 40-7 when Jackson passed three yards to tight end Mark Andrews with 9:46 remaining. A 13-yard touchdown pass from Minshew to wide receiver Chris Conley with 1:48 left cut the Ravens' lead to 40-14.
* Notable:*The Jaguars played Sunday without their regular punter, Logan Cooke, who missed the game with an illness. Kicker Aldrick Rosas handled punting duties for the first time in his NFL career, punting three times for 36.7 yards. … Starting cornerback Sidney Jones IV was among five players the Jaguars made inactive Sunday. Jones, inactive with an Achilles injury, missed three consecutive games before starting last week's loss to the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars' four other inactives Sunday: rookie cornerback Luq Barcoo, linebacker Quincy Williams, defensive tackle Daniel Ross and rookie quarterback Jake Luton. ..
* Injury report:*Jaguars wide receiver Collin Johnson sustained a hamstring injury in the first quarter. … Robinson sustained an ankle injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.
* Up next:*The Jaguars will play host to the Chicago Bears at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Sunday in their final home game of the 2020 season.
