LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior writer John Oehser examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 19-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in a 2024 Week 16 game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday

1. Just not enough. The Jaguars on Sunday lost by a touchdown or less for a ninth time this season – and has been the case in most of those losses, they squandered a real chance to win. The Jaguars led 14-13 entering the fourth quarter, but a seven-yard run by Ameer Abdullah gave the Raiders the final margin of victory with 11:26 remaining. After the Jaguars managed six yards on the ensuing series, they regained possession with 2:44 remaining after forcing a punt. They drove from their 7-yard line to their 48, where they faced fourth-and-1. A holding penalty on left tackle Cole Van Lanen negated running back Travis Etienne's 12-yard gain. On fourth-and-11 from the Jaguars 38-yard line, quarterback Mac Jones threw into the flat to running back D'Ernest Johnson. He was tackled after an eight-yard gain and the Raiders ran out the final :52. "I've been in that situation a lot, and the last thing you want to do is take a sack," Jones said, adding that Johnson was not the primary read. "You have to put it in play. You want to try and make a play there and get it down the field. If he makes that play, we'll have a new set of downs, and everyone will be saying different."

2. Wiiiiiiide open. A defensive breakdown gave the Jaguars life – and the lead – just before the start of the final quarter. With the Jaguars trailing 13-7, Jones threw deep to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. – with the tandem having narrowly missed on a similar play earlier in the quarter, a play that would have been negated by a holding penalty on center Mitch Morse. On third-and-8 from the Jaguars 38, Thomas caught Jones' pass wide open on the left sideline and scored easily to give the Jaguars a 14-13 lead with :54 remaining in the third quarter. "Probably busted coverage, it looked like," Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "We needed a play. We come back to him again, same type of thing, and he makes the play. It's the type of kid he is. There's never an easy play, but we got help on that one." Thomas said he was "super-surprised" to be so open. "I don't know what happened," he said. "They had a busted coverage over there, and I was able to run wide open."

3. Fuuuumble. In a low-scoring game in which the offenses were struggling, every opportunity Sunday mattered. And it made a Jaguars turnover near the end of the first half costly. With the Raiders having scored on three consecutive second-quarter possessions to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 13-7 lead, the Jaguars drove from their 10-yard line and faced first-and-10 at the Raiders 43-yard line. On first-and-10 from there with :15 remaining in the half, Jones threw complete to tight end Brenton Strange – with Strange fumbling after an eight-yard gain when he was hit by safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Safety Thomas Harper recovered for the Raiders at the Las Vegas 33-yard line with :09 remaining in the half. The Jaguars finished Sunday with two turnovers and eight penalties for 60 yards. "Where we are as a football team and the type of year we've had, we just can't make those types of mistakes and expect to win," Pederson said. "That probably goes without saying. It's hard to overcome and try to flush it and move on."

4. Answering – and re-answering. The Raiders turned in an impressive drive to end the first quarter, with the result being a game-tying touchdown to start the second quarter. They were impressive again on the next two possessions. Alexander Mattison's one-yard run capped a six-play 70-yard drive to tie the game 7-7 with 14:05 remaining in the second quarter. After a Jaguars punt, the Raiders drove 33 yards on six plays for a 49-yard field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson that gave Las Vegas a 10-7 lead with 10:45 remaining in the half. Carlson made it 13-7 with a 37-yard field goal with 3:56 remaining in the half – marking the Raiders' third consecutive scoring possession. Standout play of those series: A 29-yard pass from Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell to wide receiver Tre Tucker with Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell in coverage to set up Mattison's tying touchdown.

5. An early lead. The Jaguars gained the game's first significant momentum – and the lead – late in the first quarter. One play after defensive end Arik Armstead sacked O’Connell on third-and-14 from the Raiders 22, Jaguars wide receiver Devin Duvernay returned a punt 26 yards to the Raiders 44 – and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness on Raider's linebacker Amari Gainer gave the Jaguars a first down at the Las Vegas 29. Key plays: A 16-yard pass from Jones to Thomas on third-and-9 that gave the Jaguars a first down at the Raiders 12-yard line and a pass interference penalty on Raider's cornerback Darnay Holmes defending wide receiver Parker Washington that gave the Jaguars first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Running back Tank Bigsby's one-yard run on the ensuing play gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter.