LONDON – The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't show any quit this week after falling behind early on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The Jaguars trailed 10-0 before rallying and overpowering the Patriots 32-16 at Wembley Stadium.
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“This is what our team can do,” coach Doug Pederson said. “We were down 10 but nobody was like, ‘here we go again,’ or defeated or had negative thoughts. It was just one play at a time.”
Tank Bigsby rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Washington returned a punt 96 yards for a score. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught a touchdown pass for the Jaguars (2-5).
In his second start, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye led one fourth-quarter scoring drive but couldn’t muster a second one as New England (1-6) lost its sixth straight game for the first time since 1993.
Bigsby scored on a 4-yard run after the Patriots turned the ball over on downs after the two-minute warning.
The win should at least temporarily ease some pressure off Pederson and generate a little optimism about the season.
Of course, that was the thinking two weeks ago when the Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts for their first win. Then they reversed course with an embarrassing 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears.
“Adversity shows real character,” said Bigsby, who rushed 26 times with Travis Etienne out injured. “It shows who you can be and who you are. Today showed what this can be ... let's keep going.”
No quit
Andre Cisco had said after the loss to Chicago that he saw “quit” in the team in the second half.
The Jags safety said Sunday he “cleared the air” with teammates this week and added that he wasn't talking about individual players.
“Obviously, I didn’t say it how I wanted to in that moment, just raw emotion,” he said.
The Jaguars scored four straight times after falling behind early.
Thomas caught a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal to get the Jags on the board and he set up Jacksonville’s go-ahead score when he streaked down the middle of the field and caught a 58-yard pass to the New England 21.
Four plays later, Bigsby’s 1-yard plunge gave the Jags a 14-10 lead.
Washington’s record-setting 96-yard punt return for a touchdown made it 22-10. Lawrence threw to Thomas for the 2-point conversion after the Patriots were offside on the extra point attempt.
Lawrence completed 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Thomas had five receptions for 89 yards.
Missed opportunities
The Jags had trouble expanding their lead in the second half.
They opened the second half by driving to the New England 3 but settled for a field goal — increasing their lead to 25-10 — when Christian Kirk couldn’t get a second foot down in the corner of the end zone on a third down throw.
On its next drive, Jacksonville drove down the field on a 17-play drive but Bigsby was stuffed for no gain on a fourth-and-1 from the 6.
Maye got the Patriots back into the end zone less than three minutes later when he found K.J. Osborn for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 25-16 after Cisco earlier dropped a would-be interception. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.
In a first for the Patriots this season, they scored on their opening drive. JaMycal Hasty caught a pass in the flat and made Josh Hines-Allen and Cisco miss to get into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception.
Maye finished 26 of 37 for 276 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said his team is “soft.”
“They controlled the ball for most of the day,” he said. “Back to the drawing board. We can't sit here and pout.”
Sights & sounds
Pats cornerback Christian Gonzalez arrived to Wembley wearing the England shirt of striker Harry Kane. The Bayern Munich star is England's all-time leading scorer and happens to be a big Patriots fan, too. Kane was in attendance to see New England win its sixth Super Bowl title in 2019. ... Matt Turner, a goalkeeper for the U.S. national team and London club Crystal Palace, was in the Wembley crowd.
Injuries
Patriots: WR DeMario Douglas briefly left in the third quarter with an illness. ... RB Antonio Gibson stayed down after a 9-yard reception in first quarter... OL Layden Robinson (ankle) limped off in first quarter and was ruled out... rookie WR Javon Baker was inactive after missing Friday’s practice with an illness.
Jaguars: OL Cam Robinson was ruled out in the second quarter with a concussion... RB Travis Etienne was inactive with a hamstring injury.
Up next
Patriots: Host the New York Jets next Sunday.
Jaguars: Host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl