Jaguars get a victory to savor at expense of sinking Ravens
BALTIMORE (AP) The Jacksonville Jaguars needed all 60 minutes - and then some - to secure a rare, uplifting victory on the road.
For the Baltimore Ravens, the stunning ending of Sunday's game provided further evidence that, in this wretched season, if something can go wrong, it most assuredly will.
Jason Myers kicked a 53-yard field goal after Jacksonville got another play on a facemask penalty with no time left, and the Jaguars escaped with a 22-20 win to snap a 13-game skid on the road.
Down 20-19 with no timeouts, the Jaguars got the ball at their 20 with 1:06 left. After moving to the Baltimore 49, Blake Bortles took the snap an instant before the clock expired, slipped to the ground and was quickly sacked by Elvis Dumervil.
But Dumervil grabbed the quarterback's facemask, and because a game can't end on a penalty by the defense, the Jaguars got the ball at the 35.
Myers, who earlier missed a 26-yard field goal try, boomed this one through the uprights.
''We've been in so many close games that have come down to the last possession, and to come out with a W is great for our morale and confidence,'' Jaguars linebacker Julius Thomas said.
Jacksonville (3-6) has only a few days to savor the feeling, because a home game against Tennessee is coming up Thursday night.
''Anytime you go into a short week like that, you don't have much time to celebrate,'' coach Gus Bradley said.
It's hard to imagine how long it will take for the Ravens (2-7) to get over this one. Baltimore was 6-1 after a bye under coach John Harbaugh and had won 11 of its previous 12 home games in November.
''Just about as tough a loss as you're ever going to see,'' Harbaugh said. ''Really, what we have to deal with right now is how we handle it, where we go forward from here.''
Some things we learned from this game about the Ravens and Jaguars:
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Baltimore has lost its seven games by a combined total of 32 points. To make matters worse, the Ravens have held the lead in the second half of five of the losses.
Whether it's a defensive lapse, a last-minute turnover or a freak facemask penalty, Baltimore can't find a way to win.
''We have chances to close these games out. We're just leaving room for stuff like this to happen,'' said Joe Flacco, who threw three touchdown passes but also committed three turnovers. ''At the end of the day we're not good enough. It shows in your record.''
SECOND CHANCE: The game might have gone in a completely different direction if Myers connected on a short field-goal try in the third quarter.
It was his fourth miss of the season, along with three botched conversion kicks. But on this day, he cashed on a second chance.
''I was ready for it,'' Myers said. ''Once we got the ball back, I spent my time concentrating and preparing for a chance I hoped would come.''
GROUND TO A HALT: The Jaguars entered the game with one rushing touchdown for the season and continued to show a lack of faith in their ground game.
Jacksonville totaled only 90 rushing yards, 61 of them coming from T.J. Yeldon, who scored the team's lone running TD on Oct. 25 against Buffalo. But in critical situations, the Jaguars were usually passing rather than handing the ball off.
Bortles threw 45 passes and accounted for two of the Jaguars' 22 rushing attempts.
TURNOVERS ARE PIVOTAL: Although an interception by Lardarius Webb provided Baltimore with its first takeaway since Week 3, the Ravens committed four turnovers - a common thread in most of their defeats.
Both teams came in with a minus-7 turnover differential.
''We've been forcing the turnovers, but it was really good to get some picks in the back end this week,'' said cornerback Davon House, who had the two interceptions.
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