'We haven't done anything': Jaguars excited, not satisfied after dominating 19-3 win over Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With five seconds remaining in the first half, a white towel could be seen falling down in front of the press box window. A Jets fan had officially thrown in the towel after raining down boos on Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who eventually was benched for third-string QB Chris Streveler with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter.

The Jaguars had done enough against a reeling Jets offense to consider the game over not even 30 minutes into the contest.

Jacksonville jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and never looked back, ultimately defeating the Jets 19-3 on Thursday Night Football, winning a primetime matchup on the road for the first time since 2000 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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The victory improved Jacksonville to a 7-8 record, still just a game out of the division lead within the AFC South. It ends a tough three-game stretch that transpired over 12 days, a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2017. Still, the Jaguars aren't looking forward, and head coach Doug Pederson's message to the team was simple: "We haven't done anything."

Of course, Jacksonville's win against the Jets (7-8) was impressive and worth noting as to how far the team has come since the end of its five-game losing streak in the month of October, but, the fact remains there's plenty to get done still.

"We haven't clinched anything. We haven't won anything. We still got two games left. We got two division games left," Pederson said after the win Thursday, noting he does want the team to enjoy the holidays with their family and friends.

The Jaguars control their own destiny. If the team pulls off wins against the Houston Texans next week and the Tennessee Titans (Week 18), they'll be crowned AFC South champions.

"It’s time to heal and get healthy for this final two-game stretch," said Pederson, who improved to 7-0 when coaching on Thursday Night Football. "I also want them to come back with the right frame of mind next week and get ready for a team that beat us a couple of months ago."

Jaguars' defense dominates Jets, pitches near-shutout

There was no question the Jaguars' defense came to play Thursday night. After allowing three points thanks to a short field given to New York via a Trevor Lawrence fumble, Jacksonville didn't allow a single point to the Gang Green.

The Jaguars' defense forced five punts, two turnovers (one interception and one fumble) and two drives that finished with a turnover on downs for New York.

It was a dominating showcase, one that Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins said "feels great," noting that it was just another obstacle in the way of doing what they ultimately want to accomplish.

Jenkins finished the game second on the team in tackles with eight. He was awarded the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week award last week after his walk-off touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in overtime.

Thursday marked the fewest points scored against the Jacksonville defense since the team's Week 2 shutout victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

The dominating performance against the Jets forced a QB change during the third quarter, something Jenkins said didn't come as a surprise, though, the QB that went in did surprise them a bit.

Before he was pulled, Wilson completed just 9-of-18 passes for 92 yards and an interception at the end of the first half as time expired.

"We knew after the first half, well I thought (Joe) Flacco was going to come in, honestly, but they decided to go with No. 15 (Streveler)," Jenkins said. "He did a pretty decent job for them when he got in there, but we ultimately were able to shut them down and keep them to three points."

Streveler completed 10-of-15 passes for 90 yards, while running the ball nine times for 54 yards. He was the Jets' leading rusher by the end of the contest. The rest of the New York running backs accounted for just 11 yards on 10 carries.

The Jaguars' defense allowed just two third-down conversions and 227 total net yards, the second-fewest allowed by the defense this season (218, Colts, Week 2).

The Jaguars entered Thursday night's game down a couple of key defensive linemen, including outside linebacker Travon Walker and defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi.

Still, the players that were called upon, including defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter, who was pulled up from the practice squad just before Thursday's matchup, were able to fill in for those players nicely.

Ledbetter was in on a key sack that ultimately went to fellow DL DaVon Hamilton.

"Like I said last week, those guys did a good job upstairs [in the Jaguars front office] of bringing in the right group, the right people and it definitely was great to not have a drop-off," defensive end Arden Key said.

Jacksonville sacked Wilson three times Sunday, including a sack each for safety Andre Cisco (the first of his career) and DL Roy Robertson-Harris, who had a sack last week against the Cowboys as well.

'Whatever it takes to win': Weather dictated Jaguars offensive gameplan

While Jacksonville's defense was dominant, the team's offense struggled to get going at times due to the rain and wind that was consistent throughout the contest.

Still, the team's offense accounted for 365 total net yards, the second-most this season against the Jets' highly-rated defense.

Jacksonville scored four field goals to go along with one touchdown.

Lawrence completed 20-of-31 passes for 229 yards to go along with seven rushing attempts for 51 yards and a one-yard touchdown. Jacksonville's leading receiver was tight end Evan Engram, who accounted for 113 yards on seven receptions.

It was the Jaguars' rushing attack, which accounted for 147 total net rushing yards, that played a key role in Thursday's win, though. It was something the team was forced to do, understanding that the conditions were less than ideal.

"It was going to be one of those days," said Pederson. "It was going to be physical. It was going to be tough. We were going to have to run the football because throwing it was going to be hard."

The swing in momentum for the game came on the team's third drive of the game, a 16-play, 96-yard scoring drive, the longest TD drive of the season for Jacksonville.

Jacksonville threw the ball just four times, completing three for 42 yards while running the ball 12 times for 54 yards. The drive was huge, Lawrence said.

"Then you also kind of put them in a position, where you go up by a couple scores and they feel like they have to throw the ball more, the elements aren’t great, you can kind of get the ball back quicker and quicker," Lawrence said of the Jaguars going up 10-3 early in the second quarter.

"So, it was big to just answer and to respond and to have a drive like that."

Second-year back Travis Etienne accounted for 83 rushing yards, putting him at exactly 1,000 yards on the season. After the game, Etienne gave thanks to everyone else around him for getting him to the mark.

"Just shout out to my offensive line, I feel like they played a huge part and the receivers blocking downfield, [I'm] thankful for them, and just hats off to the team, I couldn't do it without them," Etienne said.

Etienne missed his entire rookie season last year due to a Lisfranc injury. When asked about Etienne's ability to bounce back and reach the mark this week, Lawrence said, "it's been awesome."

"He’s really changed our offense as far as just explosive runs, just the big play ability that he creates. If he has a crease, he can take it to the house," said Lawrence.

"What he’s been able to do for us, he’s been great, just keep building off of it. The guys up front were pumped at the end of the game they’re like, ‘We got to get him to 1,000.’ They knew we were close, so it’s cool to just see everybody rooting for each other."

Dawuane Smoot injury looms large

Near the end of the contest, Jaguars defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot was injured in what appeared to be a non-contact right-leg injury.

After the game, Smoot was seen in the Jacksonville locker room on crutches, unable to put much weight down on his injured leg. Smoot was carted off of the field.

After the game, Pederson said he wouldn't know more about the injury until he spoke with head trainer Jeff Ferguson. Pederson is set to meet with the media via conference call Friday.

After the game, Key was upset when talking about Smoot and his injury, saying he hopes it wasn't as bad as it looked on the field.

"I hated that," Key said. "He went down, and even on that play when he went down, I stopped playing. The play was still going on, I stopped playing. We hope it's not as serious as it looked like. If it is, the focus has to be extra. The details got to be extra, on point."

Key says he hopes the team can get rookie outside linebacker Travon Walker back next week to help fill the void if Smoot is done for the season. Walker has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

Next up: Houston Texans

The Jaguars will head to Houston in Week 17 to face off against the Texans at NRG Stadium on New Year's Day at 1 p.m. With a win, Jacksonville will play for the AFC South title against the Titans the following week.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars remain focused on mission after 19-3 victory over New York Jets