Jaguars Up-Down drill: Tracking the good, bad and ugly from Dallas Cowboys game

The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jaguars’ 40-34 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys at TIAA Bank Field.

Down/Up: Cowboys' fan avalanche

With the army of Dallas fans helping to fill the stadium to capacity, Sunday’s game might have had more opposing fans at The Bank than any time in history, including when the Pittsburgh Steelers were the visiting team.

The positive for the Jaguars is they acknowledged setting a franchise record for the highest gate revenue (excluding London games) in history, which would put the financial windfall from the Cowboys’ game likely around $12 million.

Up: Rayshawn Jenkins

The Jaguars’ safety had a game for the ages, collecting 18 tackles and two interceptions, including the first pick-6 of his football life in overtime to deliver the dramatic victory.

Jenkins made sure he secured the ball that ricocheted off receiver Noah Brown's arm before it hit the ground, then raced 52 yards down the sideline untouched to the end zone.

More coverage of Sunday's game:

'You gotta respect us':Jaguars storm back, shock Cowboys with walk-off touchdown

'He's just a ballplayer':Rayshawn Jenkins has walk-off TD in Jaguars victory over Cowboys

Jaguars Report Card:Another AA-wesome performance in comeback win over Cowboys

Up: Celebration line

Jenkins' heroics to end the game spawned a celebration all over the field as the Jaguars took turns congratulating No. 2 for the team’s second interception touchdown in 2022.

It was the first since safety Andre Cisco had a 59-yarder in Week 4 to open the scoring in a 29-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Jenkins celebration started with a back slap in the end zone from Josh Allen, then the entire defense mobbed him near the fans against the wall of the north end zone. Before he left the field, Jenkins got hugs from Trevor Lawrence and several other teammates.

Down: First quarter blues

So much for coach Doug Pederson’s emphasis on the Jaguars getting off to better starts.

The offense produced only 35 yards in the opening quarter, where the Jaguars trailed 7-0. Ironically, the Jaguars are playing their best ball of the season, winning four of the last six games.

Yet during that time, they’ve been slow starters, getting outscored 55-10 in the first quarter.

Up: Ending NFC slump

The Jaguars finally put a stop to one of the most mystifying losing streaks in NFL history — a league-record 20 straight defeats to NFC opponents.

It’s unfathomable any team could lose that many in a row to teams from the other conference, given the next-highest is 14 by the Las Vegas Raiders. The Jaguars have lost to every NFC team since the Cowboys began this misery with a 40-7 rout in Week 6 of the 2018 season.

Given the uniqueness of this particular losing streak, it’s conceivable the Jaguars will hold that 20-game record for several decades.

Up: Clutch pinch-hitter

Offensive tackle Walker Little was forced to enter the game when right tackle Jawann Taylor got injured, though he eventually returned.

Then left tackle Cam Robinson hurt his ankle with 10 minutes remaining, forcing Little to come back in at a different tackle position.

Little held his own going up against Micah Parsons, not allowing a sack on several plays when he had no tight end helping him fend off the Cowboys’ elite pass-rushing linebacker. Robinson’s status for the Thursday night game against the New York Jets is up in the air.

Down: Tre Herndon

It's no secret to opponents that Tyson Campbell is the Jaguars’ best cover corner, so the natural inclination for opposing quarterbacks is to go somewhere else with the ball.

Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott favorite target was often CeeDee Lamb whenever he was being covered by Herndon. Lamb had an 18-yard catch on the first series, then drew a pass interference on Herndon that led to Dallas’ second touchdown.

A 22-yarder to Lamb working against Herndon set up a third quarter field goal, while Lamb’s best catch-and-run on the same drive went for 39 yards, which included changing direction twice to leave Herndon behind.

Up: Slumbering offense awakens

It looked for a while that Trevor Lawrence’s hot streak the past five games would cool off when the Jaguars fell behind 27-10 midway through the third quarter. But No. 16 then flipped a switch, guiding the Jaguars on consecutive TD drives of 75, 39 and 75 yards.

During that stretch, Lawrence completed 4 of 5 passes for 72 yards, while a so-so running game also came alive as Travis Etienne, Jamal Agnew and JaMycal Hasty combined on nine carries for 91 yards.

Up/Down: Travis Etienne

The Jaguars’ running back broke out of a four-game slump with 19 carries for 103 yards, including eight for 48 yards on two touchdown drives that helped his team erase a 27-10 third quarter deficit.

But there was also a downside as Etienne lost his third fumble of the season on the first Jaguars’ possession, running into the rear end of guard Brandon Scherff.

The Cowboys converted the turnover into a touchdown. Etienne is tied with the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Henry and the Denver Broncos’ Melvin Gordon with the most running back fumbles at five.

Up: Playoff talk

It's no longer a long shot for the Jaguars to do what was once unthinkable: winning the AFC South. With the Tennessee Titans losing 17-14 on the road Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, that means the 6-8 Jaguars control their own destiny by moving within one game of the first-place Titans. As long as the gap remains one game or tied between the two rivals heading into their Week 18 rematch at TIAA Bank Field, that game will decide the division crown.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars Up-Down drill: the good, bad and ugly from Dallas Cowboys game