Jaguars go out west and dominate Chargers, 38-10

The Jacksonville Jaguars traveled to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium and dominated to earn a 38-10 victory. The Jaguars improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Chargers drop to 1-2.

The Jaguars broke an 18-game road losing streak and won on the road against the Chargers (counting both in San Diego and Los Angeles) for the first time ever.

The first quarter was mostly uneventful. Jacksonville received the ball to start the game and marched into Los Angeles’ territory, eventually getting to the Chargers’ 39-yard-line, but turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass by quarterback Trevor Lawrence on fourth-down-and-5.

The teams would then trade a few punts before Jacksonville opened up the scoring on the day with a 22-yard field goal from kicker Riley Patterson to begin the second quarter. Lawrence led the Jaguars on a 12-play, 63-yard drive that took 5:14 off of the clock and gave Jacksonville the 3-0 lead.

On the first play of the ensuing drive for the Chargers, rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd intercepted quarterback Justin Herbert on a pass that was bobbled a couple of times before eventually landing in Lloyd’s hands.

The Jaguars would take over at the Chargers’ 9-yard-line, but Los Angeles’ defense would hold and force a field goal. Patterson would make a 23-yard field goal to extend Jacksonville’s lead to 6-0 early in the second quarter.

Disaster would strike again for Los Angeles on its next drive. On third-and-10, Herbert was sacked by defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot and fumbled, while linebacker Foye Oluokun recovered the ball for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville took over deep into Los Angeles’ territory at the 28-yard-line, and five plays later, Lawrence found wide receiver Zay Jones for a 14-yard touchdown. Following the extra point, the Jaguars took a 13-0 lead over the Chargers.

The Chargers would finally answer on the next possession, driving 75 yards on nine plays, which took 4:13 off the clock. Herbert would connect with wide receiver Mike Williams on a 15-yard touchdown pass. L.A. cut Jacksonville’s lead to just six points at 13-7.

The Jaguars would add a 23-yard field goal from Patterson before halftime and extend the lead to 16-7. The Chargers received the ball to start the second half and tacked on a 25-yard field goal from kicker Dustin Hopkins — thanks in part to a 54-yard pass from Herbert to wide receiver Jalen Guyton — to make the score 16-10, with the Jaguars in the lead.

After that, the second half was all Jacksonville, though. On the Jaguars’ first possession of the second half, Jacksonville drove 75 yards on just five plays, taking just 1:13 off of the game clock.

The drive was capped off by an impressive 50-yard run from running back James Robinson. A strong block from right guard Brandon Scherff helped spring Robinson for the score. The Jaguars led the Chargers 23-10 at that point.

Jacksonville’s defense would force an immediate three-and-out from Los Angeles, and would take advantage of getting the ball back. The Jaguars drove 60 yards on 14 plays, which took 8:27 off of the game clock, and ended with a four-yard pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Christian Kirk. Lawrence then hit tight end Evan Engram for a two-point conversion.

The Jaguars were rolling at that point, leading 31-10, with 1:15 left in the third quarter.

The Jaguars continued to dominate in the fourth quarter. The Chargers would open the final quarter by driving into Jaguars’ territory, getting to Jacksonville’s 32-yard-line. But on fourth-and-15, Herbert could not hit Williams, and L.A. turned the ball over on downs. This set up the put-away drive for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville would score once again, holding the ball for over nine minutes, and adding an 11-yard touchdown from Lawrence to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (an outstanding catch by Marvin Jones Jr.). The Jaguars took a commanding 38-10 lead with under five minutes of gameplay remaining.

The Chargers would march down to the Jaguars’ 11-yard-line on the next drive, but still could not get into the end zone. The score went final with the Jaguars winning 38-10.

Jacksonville out-gained Los Angeles in total yardage 413-312. The Chargers turned the ball over twice, while the Jaguars did not give the ball away a single time.

Lawrence completed 28 passes on 39 attempts (71.8 percent) for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Robinson led the Jaguars in rushing yards with 100 on 17 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and scored the aforementioned touchdown. Zay Jones led the Jaguars in receiving with 10 catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, while Kirk and Marvin Jones Jr. each had receiving touchdowns as well.

Next week, the Jaguars will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles on Sunday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Eastern Time.