New York Jets vs Jacksonville Jaguars Match Player Stats (Dec 15, 2024)
New York Jets vs Jacksonville Jaguars match player stats tell you everything. Davante Adams: 9 catches, 198 yards, 2 touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers: 289 yards, 3 touchdowns. Mac Jones: 2 interceptions that killed Jacksonville. Jets won 32-25 at EverBank Stadium on December 15, 2024.
Quick Numbers:
- Jets 32, Jaguars 25
- Adams: 9-198-2 (8 catches after halftime)
- Rodgers: 16/30, 289 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Jones: 31/46, 294 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Crowd: 63,251
Table of Contents
Saturday Night Drama Before Sunday’s Game
Mechanical problems grounded the Jets’ plane. They landed in Jacksonville after 10 PM Saturday, skipped team meetings, then scored 32 points Sunday afternoon.
Sometimes preparation is overrated.
Game day brought 72-degree weather and sunshine to North Florida. Both teams sat at 3-10. No playoffs. No hope. Just pride and draft position on the line.
First Quarter: Trading Haymakers
Jacksonville took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 4:12. Mac Jones hit Brian Thomas Jr. for a 14-yard touchdown. First time in 19 games the Jaguars scored on their opening drive. The drought was over. 7-0 Jacksonville.
Jeff Ulbrich faced fourth-and-5 at his own 32.
Punt?
Nope.
Ashtyn Davis took the direct snap and gained 21 yards. Fake punt worked. Crowd went quiet. Three plays later, Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson for 22 yards and six points. Jets hadn’t scored on their first drive in 15 games. Now they had. 7-7.
Jacksonville’s next drive lasted three plays. Jalen Mills jumped a route and picked off Jones at the Jets’ 12. First interception for New York in 262 opponent passes. Nine games without a pick. Mills left with a chest injury after the play. Worth it.
First quarter done: 7-7.
Second Quarter: Time Means Nothing
Jacksonville ran 18 plays on their next drive. Gained 77 yards. Ate 11:07 off the clock.
Points scored? Three.
Cam Little kicked a 28-yard field goal. All that work for three points. Mitch Morse said it best after the game: “We didn’t execute in certain areas and that’s why we’re in the losers’ column.”
Greg Zuerlein matched with a 35-yarder for the Jets. Both teams punted once more before halftime.
Halftime stats:
Jets:
- Rodgers: 8/15, 92 yards, TD
- Adams: 1 catch, 8 yards
- Hall: 8 carries, 18 yards
Jaguars:
- Jones: 17/24, 141 yards, TD
- Thomas Jr.: 5-52-1
- Bigsby: 5 carries, 15 yards
Jacksonville controlled the half. More plays, more yards, more time of possession. Tied 10-10. Stats don’t win games. Points do.
Third Quarter: A Backflip Changes Nothing
Anders Carlson missed a 48-yard field goal to start the second half. Wide right. Jacksonville took over and drove for a Cam Little 37-yarder. 13-10 Jags.
Jets faced third-and-long at their own 38. Jeremiah Ledbetter burst through and dropped Rodgers for minus-14.
Then something incredible happened.
The 300-pound defensive tackle stuck a backflip. A legit, perfect backflip. Crowd went crazy. Best celebration all year. Jets settled for a Zuerlein field goal anyway. 13-13.
Rest of the quarter? Punts. More punts. Shadows getting longer. Both teams waiting for someone to make a play.
Fourth Quarter: Adams Takes Over
Jacksonville struck first. Mac Jones found Brian Thomas Jr. from 19 yards out with 8:46 left. 20-13 Jaguars. DUUUVAL chants echoed through EverBank. Home crowd smelled an upset.
Rodgers needed 1:51 to answer.
Second down. Rodgers stepped up, pump-faked left, launched right. Adams had beaten his man by five yards. Seventy-one yards. Touchdown. Tie game. Jeff Ulbrich called it “historic, magical” afterward. Adams’ 100th career touchdown.
Jacksonville went three-and-out. Punted.
Jets ball, 5:43 left.
Rodgers found Adams on the same route. Forty-one yards to the 1. Breece Hall punched it in next play. 28-22 Jets. But Zuerlein missed the extra point. Still a one-score game.
Mac Jones got the ball with 1:05 left. Drove to midfield. Needed a touchdown. Forced one into coverage.
Sauce Gardner was waiting.
First interception of the season for Gardner. Game over.
“I’ve been waiting for a pick for a minute,” Gardner said.
Final: Jets 32, Jaguars 25.
Offensive Numbers
Jets Passing Attack
Aaron Rodgers: 16/30, 289 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Also ran 5 times for 45 yards (led team)
- Rating: 112.4
- Sacked twice
At 41, Rodgers scrambled more than any Jets running back. Says something about their ground game.
Jets Pass Catchers
| Player | Catches | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davante Adams | 9 | 198 | 2 |
| Garrett Wilson | 3 | 60 | 1 |
| Allen Lazard | 2 | 18 | 0 |
| Tyler Conklin | 2 | 13 | 0 |
Adams first half: 1 catch, 8 yards. Adams second half: 8 catches, 190 yards, 2 TDs.
Jacksonville never adjusted. Never doubled him. Same routes worked twice.
Jets Rushing
| Player | Carries | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breece Hall | 16 | 30 | 1 |
| Braelon Allen | 2 | 17 | 0 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 5 | 45 | 0 |
Hall averaged 1.9 yards per carry before his touchdown. Not winning football. Good thing Rodgers was dealing.
Jaguars Passing
Mac Jones: 31/46, 294 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Rating: 80.1
- Sacked twice
- Now 6-2 lifetime vs Jets
Two picks ended two drives. First stopped momentum. Second ended the game.
Jaguars Pass Catchers
| Player | Catches | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Thomas Jr. | 10 | 105 | 2 |
| Brenton Strange | 11 | 73 | 0 |
| Travis Etienne | 5 | 44 | 0 |
| Evan Engram | 2 | 41 | 0 |
| Tank Bigsby | 3 | 31 | 0 |
Thomas Jr. now has 1,282 yards. Broke Justin Blackmon’s rookie record (865). Only bright spot in Jacksonville’s season.
Strange caught 11 balls for 73 yards. That’s 6.6 per catch. Check-downs don’t win games.
Jaguars Rushing
| Player | Carries | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank Bigsby | 8 | 23 | 0 |
| Travis Etienne | 5 | 18 | 0 |
| D’Ernest Johnson | 4 | 15 | 0 |
Seventeen carries. Fifty-six yards. That’s not going to beat anybody.
Defensive Numbers
Jets Defense
Key players:
- C.J. Mosley: 8 tackles
- Quincy Williams: 7 tackles
- Sauce Gardner: 5 tackles, INT, 3 pass breakups
- Quinnen Williams: 4 tackles, sack
- Jalen Mills: 4 tackles, INT (left injured)
Jets played without corners D.J. Reed (groin) and Brandin Echols (shoulder). Rookie Qwan’tez Stiggers started. Former CFL player didn’t get burned. That’s a win.
Jaguars Defense
Key players:
- Foyesade Oluokun: 11 tackles
- Andrew Cisco: 6 tackles
- Josh Allen: 5 tackles, 0.5 sacks
- Travon Walker: 4 tackles
- Jeremiah Ledbetter: 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 backflip
Where was the pass rush? Allen and Walker combined for half a sack against a 41-year-old quarterback. Not acceptable.
Special Teams
Kicking:
- Jets: Zuerlein 2/2 FG, 3/4 XP; Carlson 0/1 FG
- Jaguars: Little 4/4 FG, 1/1 XP
Little hasn’t missed inside 50 all year. Most consistent Jaguar.
Punting:
- Morstead (NYJ): 6 punts, 48.3 avg
- Cooke (JAX): 5 punts, 47.4 avg
Both guys can boom it. Cooke just made All-Pro.
Game-Changer: That fake punt. Fourth-and-5 at your own 32? Most coaches punt. Ulbrich rolled the dice. Davis gained 21. Three plays later, touchdown. Fortune favors the bold.
What Happened When
First Quarter
- Jones to Thomas Jr., 14-yard TD (7-0 JAX)
- Fake punt, then Rodgers to Wilson, 22-yard TD (7-7)
- Mills picks off Jones
Second Quarter
- Jacksonville burns 11:07 for a field goal (10-7)
- Zuerlein field goal (10-10)
Third Quarter
- Carlson misses, Little makes (13-10)
- Ledbetter sack/backflip, Zuerlein FG (13-13)
Fourth Quarter
- Jones to Thomas Jr., 19-yard TD (20-13)
- Rodgers to Adams, 71-yard TD (20-20)
- Hall 1-yard run (28-22)
- Gardner picks off Jones
Draft Position and Records
Jets improved to 4-10. Hurt their draft spot but proved Rodgers-Adams still works. Sometimes winning matters more than draft position. Builds culture. Shows fight.
Jacksonville fell to 3-11. Seven losses by eight points or fewer this season. They find ways to lose close games. Mac Jones proved he’s not the answer. Two crucial picks won’t cut it.
Brian Thomas Jr. gives them hope. Set franchise rookie records:
- 87 catches (old: 65)
- 1,282 yards (old: 865, Blackmon)
- 10 TDs (old: 7, Hurns)
Fourth rookie since 1970 with 1,200 yards and 10 TDs. Joins Randy Moss, Odell Beckham Jr., and Ja’Marr Chase.
After the Game
“They’re all special. You play for the love of the game and to have moments like this with your boys,” Rodgers said.
“They made plays that we didn’t make,” Doug Pederson admitted.
Simple truth. Jets had Rodgers and Adams. Jaguars had Mac Jones and hope. Talent won.
Next Week
Jets (4-10) at Buffalo Jaguars (3-11) at Las Vegas
See also: Jets vs Titans
Bottom Line
Adams caught one pass in the first half. Eight in the second. Two touchdowns when it mattered. That’s what separates stars from everybody else.
Jacksonville played hard. Moved the ball. Made plays. But two interceptions and no defensive adjustments killed them. When Adams beats you deep twice on the same route, that’s coaching malpractice.
Weather was great. Crowd was loud. Game stayed close until the end. Jets just had better players making bigger plays. Sometimes football is that simple.
New York Jets vs Jacksonville Jaguars match player stats show what we already knew: In the NFL, elite quarterbacks and receivers beat everything else. Rodgers to Adams proved it again Sunday in Jacksonville.
Sources: ESPN, Jaguars.com, NewYorkJets.com
