Jaguars vs Saints: Winners and losers from Week 7

How is that for a four-game winning streak?

With a 31-24 win over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday, the Jacksonville Jaguars are 5-2 and seem to be putting the league on notice.

In the past 12 days, the Jags have won a game in London, Jacksonville, and New Orleans.

Here are your winners and losers from yet another win.

WINNERS

Trevor Lawrence

Leg braces be damned, Trevor Lawrence delivered yet again.

The quarterback finished his night 20-29 for 204 yards and one touchdown pass. It was not terribly flashy, similar to how it’s been all year, but it was enough to get the job done once more.

Lawrence also led the team in rushing with 59 yards, which likely no one expected to see after his knee injury on Sunday.

Lawrence won for the first time in the Superdome, after going 0-2 in college, and stated that that streak was a large reason he wanted to play on Thursday. I think Jaguars fans are waking up quite happy he played.

Travis Etienne

In the past three weeks, Travis Etienne has six touchdowns.

On Thursday, Etienne continued his streak of multi-touchdown rushing efforts by finding the end zone twice for the Jags’ first two scores.

He solidified himself as the first Jaguar in history to rush for multiple touchdowns in three consecutive weeks.

Much like Lawrence’s stat line, Etienne’s 14 carries for 53 yards and three catches for 24 yards is not terribly impressive, but coupled with two touchdowns and a win, it will do.

A lot of credit for both Lawrence’s and Etienne’s nights is due however to…

The offensive line

This unit is coming along.

Despite a lingering injury to Brandon Scherff and a lasting one to Walker Little, the Jaguars’ offensive line has put up two back-to-back weeks of very solid performances.

On Thursday, the line did not surrender a sack and allowed just four pressures all night. The pocket was clean and the injured quarterback was protected.

Let Baldy get you gassed up on some offensive line play.

The defense

It is an every-week thing with this unit.

Simply put, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense is one of the best in the league, and showed the world on primetime TV just how good they can be.

The play of the night was Foye Oluokun’s pick-six, which ended up being a huge difference-maker in a one-score finish. Oluokun finished his night with a team-high nine tackles and two pass breakups.

Angelo Blackson, who is quietly having a career year, had the team’s only two tackles for loss.

And what about Montaric “Buster” Brown filling in on a short week for Tyson Campbell?

Let Baldy take this one away too…

Only one sack is bad, and we will talk about that, but the defense is winning football games in ways that no one saw coming.

The Saints’ 24 points is the most the unit has allowed since the Texans game as well, which in turn is putting the offense in winnable situations that they are capitalizing on.

With extra time to prepare for an anemic Steelers offense, there is no telling what this defense will be capable of the next time the Jags take the field.

LOSERS

Edge rushers

With the Saints’ offensive line more banged up than the Jags’, on paper it looked like Josh Allen and Travon Walker were going to feast.

In reality, Dawuane Smoot registered the team’s lone sack.

Allen had a solid night, recording a career-high 11 pressures and registering a win rate of almost 37% but did not record a sack.

Walker had an awful night, winning just 5.6% of his snaps against Saints backup linemen.

The team needs a bit more up front, but can survive on solid pressure rate from Allen. For now.

Calvin Ridley fantasy owners

The explosive year for Ridley has not come just yet, and that is fine for the real world.

This is by far the winning-est loser of the year, but it should be noted that Ridley is simply not putting up the generational numbers many thought he would or could, especially those playing fantasy football.

In fact, Ridley has not surpassed 40 or more yards receiving in five of the seven games this year, only catching one ball for five yards on Thursday.

Ridley has opened up huge games by Zay Jones, Christian Kirk and Evan Engram, and much of that is by design. But with many teams’ best defenders shadowing Ridley, the veteran has not busted out.

A heartfelt apology to those who continue to start Ridley on your fantasy lineups.