Jones, whose three-yard touchdown to Thomas gave the Jaguars an early 7-0 lead, completed a 19-yard touchdown to Thomas midway through the quarter for a 22-17 Jaguars lead. Rodgers’ third touchdown – the 71-yarder to Adams – made it 25-22, Jets. Jaguars kicker Cam Little’s 43-yard field goal capped the ensuing possession and tied it 25-25 with 1:51 remaining.
“You have to execute the little plays within the game and then down the stretch, if you want to win those games—NFL, you never know which play is the winning play,” Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said. “I could talk about it every time it happens, but it’s basically the same stuff.”
The Jaguars (3-11) missed a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time since late November/early December 2023. The Jets (4-10) snapped a four-game losing streak.
Jones, starting for the fourth time in five games for injured starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, completed 31 of 46 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
“It comes down to me finishing and making better decisions,” Jones said. “Just finish better and see where it takes us. I have to make a couple of more plays and we’ll be in a different spot. I want to win. Everybody wants to win. We’re going to find ways to do that in these last three weeks.”
Rodgers, a 20-year veteran and 10-time Pro Bowl selection, completed 16 of 30 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Thomas Jr. set a Jaguars rookie record for receiving yards in a season. He caught 10 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and now has 956 receiving yards for the season. He passed Justin Blackmon’s 856 yards as a rookie in 2012.
Thomas’ first-quarter touchdown capped the Jaguars’ first drive and moved Thomas past Allen Hurns (six, 2014) with his franchise-rookie record seventh touchdown of the season.
That also marked the Jaguars’ first first-drive touchdown of the season.
The Jaguars registered no takeaways and one sack Sunday, with defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter sacking Rodgers in the third quarter.
“We just have to keep learning and growing as a team, and keep working,” Pederson said, with Morse adding: “It’s extremely frustrating, but we’ve got a good group of guys that win or lose will stick with it and stick with each other. I think this locker room has done a fantastic job through thick and thin here of rallying around each other.”
