JACKSONVILLE – The NFL is offering fans free access to its Game Pass platform, making any game available dating to 2009. In the coming weeks, we at jaguars.com will highlight Jaguars games from that era. In this story, we highlight a 25-24 victory over the New York Giants that marked the biggest come-from-behind victory in franchise history.
The teams: Jaguars versus New York Giants.
The date: November 30, 2014.
The site: EverBank Field, Jacksonville.
The setup: Both teams entered the game struggling, with the 1-10 Jaguars having lost four consecutive games under second-year Head Coach Gus Bradley and the Giants also essentially out of the playoffs at 3-8 with a six-game losing streak under then-Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
The gist: The Jaguars for much of the game appeared headed for an 11th loss in 12 games, with the Giants outscoring the Jaguars 21-3 in the second quarter to take control. But the Jaguars' defense played perhaps its most inspired half of the season after that, with linebacker J.T. Thomas recovering a fumble by Giants quarterback Eli Manning for a third-quarter touchdown and cornerback Aaron Colvin returning a fumble by Giants running back Larry Donnell for a 41-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Jaguars an improbable 22-21 lead. The Giants scraped back into the lead with 33-yard field goal by Josh Brown before kicker Josh Scobee's 43-yard field goal with :28 remaining gave the Jaguars a victory.
Quotable I: "It was an unbelievable way to win it. It's awesome to be a part of this team and see how much fight they have. We weren't sharp in some situations, but we were sharp when we needed to be, and that was good." – Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles
A day for firsts: The Jaguars finished 3-13 in 2014, but this was a record-setting Sunday for the franchise. The rally from an 18-point second-half deficit marked the biggest comeback in franchise history and the Jaguars scored two defensive touchdowns in the same game for the first time in franchise history. The game also featured the first game-winning drive in Bortles' career.
Quotable II: "One thing that you can't take away from this football team is that we're fighters." – Thomas
The clincher: The Giants still had hopes of a comeback after Scobee's field goal, but Jaguars defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks broke through and sacked Manning. The sack forced a fumble that Jaguars defensive end Chris Clemons recovered at the Giants 9-yard line with :20 remaining to secure the victory.
Quotable III: "It was great. Unfortunately, we haven't been in that position (to kick a game-winning field goal) in a long time, so I just told myself to be focused. No matter where they ended up stalling out for a fourth down, I was going to be ready, regardless of the hash, so I just had to be focused and ready to hit a good ball." – Scobee
The statistics: Jaguars – Bortles (21-35 passing, 194 yards, one touchdown, zero interception), Bortles (five carries, 68 yards), Denard Robinson (11 carries, 44 yards), Marqise Lee (six receptions, 75 yards, one touchdown); Giants – Manning (24-34 passing, 247 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions), Rashad Jennings (26 carries, 91 yards, two touchdowns), Odell Beckham Jr. (seven receptions, 90 yards).
Quotable IV: "You're not always going to play as well as you want to, but you have to play well enough to put your team in a winning position. I think we did that and obviously came out with the outcome we were looking for." – Bortles
The key series: Brown's field goal gave the Giants the lead with 3:26 remaining, and that set up a clutch drive that was one of the highlights of Bortles' rookie season. Bortles, who in the third quarter helped rally the Jaguars with a 30-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Marqise Lee, drove the Jaguars 55 yards with runs of 11 and 20 yards and four passes to drain much of the clock before Scobee's game-winning field goal.
Quotable V: "It was not pretty the first half. I didn't feel like we had the energy we needed. We didn't tackle very well or move the ball. Very thankful for halftime; we went in at halftime and kind of regrouped." -- Bradley
Quotable VI: "It's huge, man. It's huge. We're going to try and build off this success and finish the last four games strong." – Wide receiver Cecil Shorts III
