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Jaguars hold off Saints for dramatic NFL triumph / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Jaguars hold off Saints for dramatic NFL triumph
Trevor Lawrence threw for 204 yards and a touchdown and the Jacksonville Jaguars stretched their NFL win streak to four games on Thursday with a 31-24 victory at New Orleans.
Travis Etienne ran for two touchdowns and Lawrence connected with Christian Kirk on a 44-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to provide the winning points.
"I'm a little sore but it was worth it," Lawrence said.
"It was a big win for us."
Often-pressured Lawrence carried eight times for 59 yards to lead the Jaguars in rushing.
"That wasn't the plan at all," he said.
"Those instincts when those big guys are running at you, they kind of take over."
Kirk caught a short pass over the middle from Lawrence and raced into the end zone on the key play to give the Jaguars the final margin with 3:08 to play.
The Saints drove to the Jaguars six-yard line in the dying seconds, but four Derek Carr throws into the end zone fell incomplete.
The most heartbreaking miss came on third down when the ball went off the fingertips of Saints tight end Foster Moreau when he was wide open in the back-left corner of the end zone.
The Jaguars improved to 5-2 with their third road win in as many tries, while the Saints fell to 3-4.
Etienne scored touchdowns on runs of two and 17 yards and Brandon McManus added a 43-yard field goal to give Jacksonville a 17-6 halftime lead, the Saints having scored on Blake Grupe field goals from 23 and 35 yards.
Grupe pulled the Saints within 17-9 on a 42-yard field goal early in the third quarter.
Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun returned an interception 24 yards for a Jaguars touchdown to give the visitors a 24-9 lead.
Saints rusher Taysom Hill scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter as New Orleans pulled within 24-16.
After Etienne was stopped on fourth down and the Saints took the ball at their 47-yard line, Carr completed passes of 17 yards to Michael Thomas and 19 yards to Hill before connecting with Thomas again on a 17-yard touchdown pass.
When Carr completed a two-point conversion pass to Alvin Kamara, New Orleans had completed a comeback to pull level at 24-24, only to fall at the finish.
S. Soerensen--BTZ
