Jacksonville Jaguars close London Trilogy with win over New England Patriots – Irvine Times

Both opponents were in desperate need of a win, with identical 1-5 records to start their seasons, leaving them at the bottom of their respective divisions.

New England struck first, silencing the Jacksonville hosts in the first quarter before the Jags erupted in the second, scoring 22 unanswered points, including Parker Washington’s 97-yard punt return for the longest touchdown in NFL history.

The hosts added three more in the third, and while New England briefly cut into the deficit in the fourth, they saw their chances slip away when Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby ran late in the quarter for his second touchdown.

All eyes were on Patriots rookie quarterback Drake May, who was making his second NFL start and was good for 26 of his 37 pass attempts, throwing for 276 yards, including two touchdowns.

Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence came up big in the game, completing 15 of his 20 pass attempts and throwing for 193 yards, including one touchdown.

Jacksonville won the toss and elected to punt first in wet conditions, and New England struck first with 8:32 left in the first quarter with its first kickoff of the season.

Maye’s short pass found JaMycal Hasty on the right and the running back danced around the Jacksonville defense before scoring a 16-yard touchdown as Joey Slye added the extra point.

New England extended its lead less than 90 seconds into the second quarter on Sly’s successful 41-yard field goal to make it 10-0 for the visitors on their second possession of the game.

Jacksonville began to gain some momentum, but made it difficult for themselves when Lawrence picked off a pass on first-and-seven.

The Jags gained just one yard on the next down, but Lawrence made up for his earlier third-down fumble by successfully picking off wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who caught the ball in the end zone with 9:25 to go in the quarter, Cam Little’s conversion.

The Patriots were forced to punt on their next possession before Jacksonville took the lead for the first time on the next drive, thanks in large part to a brilliant 58-yard pass from their quarterback to find Thomas.

The Jaguars moved ahead 14-10 when Bigsby broke for his third rushing touchdown of the season, with Little again good for the extra point.

The momentum swung in favor of the hosts and they reduced their lead in spectacular style.

Wide receiver Washington made it 20-10 with a 97-yard punt return for a touchdown, the longest in Jaguars and NFL history.

Jacksonville elected to attempt a two-point conversion after the Patriots were called for an offside penalty, Thomas collected the extras from his quarterback’s pass to send his team into halftime with a 12-point lead.

They might have wanted more from their opening drive early in the third quarter, falling short of a touchdown on two incomplete short passes from Lawrence and settling for a 21-yard field goal from Little to make it 25-10.

Jacksonville’s 15-point lead remained intact as the sun came out for the final 15 minutes and the Patriots tried to light up their afternoon.

They cut the deficit to within nine points on Maye’s 22-yard touchdown pass to KJ Osborn to make it 25-16 with 8:27 left in the quarter, but fell short on their two-point conversion attempt .

Bigsby’s four-yard touchdown run with 1:45 left, which Little converted, sent New England to a disheartening sixth straight loss.