LONDON – Senior writer John Oehser examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 32-16 victory over the New England Patriots in a 2024 Week 7 game at Wembley Stadium in London Sunday.

1. All.The.Way. The Jaguars turned a rough start into a big advantage with a huge second quarter Sunday, with the biggest play coming on special teams late in the half. The Jaguars, after trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter, had rallied for a four-point lead when they forced a Patriots punt just after the two-minute warning before halftime. Jaguars second-year wide receiver Parker Washington fielded Bryce Baringer's 66-yard punt at the Jaguars 4. He ran through a huge hole in the coverage and easily avoided Baringer on the way to a 96-yard punt return. "A special moment," Washington called the play. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s two-point pass to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. pushed the Jaguars' lead to 22-10 with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter, with Washington's return setting a record for the longest punt return in franchise history. "It's crazy, because all week I was talking with teammates and they were like, 'You're going to get one; you're going to score,''' he said. "To be able to go out and make a play like that, it was fun." Washington said with a smile afterward, "That's my first time ever getting that close to the snapper, or the punter. My mindset was, 'I'm going to run through them.' I just trusted my speed. I was just going to run through them or around them."

2. Wow. The Jaguars haven't had enough wow moments this season, but the player who has delivered the most delivered again Sunday. Thomas continued to be the Jaguars' most reliable big-play playmaker – and his 58-yard reception from Lawrence was the biggest, most-memorable offensive play of a second quarter that gave the Jaguars momentum and a halftime lead. With the Jaguars having trimmed a 10-0 lead to 10-7 early in the second quarter, Lawrence threw deep down the middle of the field on second-and-8 from the Jaguars 21. Thomas caught the pass despite good coverage by cornerback Christian Gonzalez for a first down at the Patriots 21. "I had a deep post and I saw the safety was playing kind of low," Thomas said. "I knew as long as I was able to get by my man, I would be open." Running back Tank Bigsby ran for 18 of the next 21 yards, with Bigsby's one-yard run on second-and-goal giving the Jaguars a 14-10 lead with 3:32 remaining in the second quarter. "Brian did a great job of running at the corner and keeping outside leverage," Lawrence said. "I put it out there and he made a great catch. He's good at that. It's fun to see him get better every week. We have to keep using him."

3. Boom, boom, boom… The Jaguars have been waiting for a spark for several weeks – and when they got one Sunday, they struck fast and effectively. On the possession after the Patriots took a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Jaguars drove 68 yards on eight plays – and they found a big-play rhythm. The biggest play on the drive: A 24-yard pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Christian Kirk that turned second-and-9 into a first down at the Patriots 30. Running backs D'Ernest Johnson and Bigsby followed with runs of 10 and 13 yards on the next two plays, with Lawrence's six-yard touchdown pass to Thomas pulling the Jaguars to within three – 10-7 – with 9:21 remaining in the second quarter.

4. Clinching it. The, despite being in control of the game throughout the second half, took a while longer than was ideal to clinch it. First, they failed to score at the end of a 17-play, 84-yard drive that consumed 11:24 across the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters. The Patriots quickly scored on a 22-yard pass from rookie quarterback Drake Maye to wide receiver K.J. Osborn after stopping Bigsby on fourth-and-1 from the Patriots 6 to make it 25-16, Jaguars, with 8:22 remaining. "I was riding the momentum of what we were doing up to that point," Pederson said of going for the first down on fourth-and-1. "Our offensive line was really taking control of the game to that point. I felt like just putting it in their hands one more time and getting the first down right there and icing the game." The clincher came when defensive end Travon Walker sacked Maye just before the two-minute warning to set up fourth-and-26, with Maye throwing incomplete on fourth down and Bigsby's four-yard run with 1:31 remaining capping the scoring.

5. Methodical, easy. The Jaguars, after playing well and controlling the first quarter defensively before struggling later in a Week 6 loss to the Chicago Bears, reversed that early Sunday. The Patriots drove easily on the game's first possession, moving 68 yards on 11 plays and taking an early lead despite a sack by linebacker Devin Lloyd and a quality early pass rush from Walker that resulted in a short scramble. Maye capped the efficient drive with a short pass that running back JaMycal Hasty turned into a 16-yard, catch-and-run touchdown for a 7-0 New England lead with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter. The Patriots drove methodically on their second possession, taking a 10-0 lead on kicker Joey Slye's 41-yard field goal with 13:31 remaining in the second quarter. New England had a 121-25 advantage in total yards at that point.