Ravens season slipping away as Jaguars cruise: TNF winners, losers

If you simply assumed the first-place Jacksonville Jaguars would remain on cruise control and treat the Baltimore Ravens and their third-string rookie quarterback like the most minor speed bump to kick off Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season – well, yep, nailed it.

The AFC South-leading Jags barely broke a sweat on a wet Baltimore night, spanking the Ravens and fill-in QB Joe Fagnano 33-10 on the Nov. 5 edition of “Thursday Night Football.”

It was not the kind of matchup that was especially revelatory on any front, but let’s do our best to identify winners and losers beyond two teams decidedly trending in opposite directions:

WINNERS

Jaguars’ playoff aspirations

After winning its division with a 13-4 record last year, Jacksonville seems to be on a very similar trajectory in 2026 – especially so given the Jags (6-2) are armed with the league’s easiest remaining schedule and unlikely to face a challenge from any of their disintegrating AFC South foes down the stretch. Stay relatively healthy the rest of the way – maybe even add a body or two ahead of the trade deadline – and this could very well be a No. 1 playoff seed.

Jake Moody

Kicking for his fourth NFL team in four seasons, the 2023 third-round pick (by the San Francisco 49ers) banged a 53-yard field goal through the raindrops for Baltimore as he fills in for Tyler Loop … and perhaps makes a bid to replace him. (Work with me, it was that kind of game.)

Cam Little

Jacksonville’s kicker made all four of his field-goal tries in the somewhat inclement weather and was 3-for-3 on PATs, furthering his case as the league’s best at his position.

Jacoby Brissett

Baltimore is expected to finalize its acquisition of the 11th-year journeyman passer from the Arizona Cardinals in the coming days. Relegated to third-string earlier this week after Gardner Minshew II supplanted him as the starter, Brissett would seem to be in little danger of losing the top job with the Ravens, potentially one of the more talented teams he’s played for, given how they struggled Thursday and with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both on injured reserve. That would obviously change if Jackson rebounds quickly from his pending thumb surgery … though it’s also hard to believe a player as historically average (at best) as Brissett has been is going to significantly change Baltimore’s fortunes.

Joe Fagnano

Props to a guy who was undrafted – out of UConn no less – but made a 53-man roster out of training camp and persevered long enough to start a game. How many people can say that?

LOSERS

Joe Fagnano

But though Fagnano wears No. 12, he’s no Tom Brady – or even JF12 − and most certainly won’t relegate Jackson to a Drew Bledsoe fate. In his first – only? – pro start, Fagnano passed for 60 yards and two interceptions in suboptimal conditions. But good news, y’all, the Ravens are back in prime time for Week 10, when Brissett will almost certainly be starting against the almost certainly winless Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 16.

ESPN

And good luck to the Worldwide Leader in its bid to whip up interest around another non-flexible matchup when Brissett will almost certainly be starting against the almost certainly winless Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 16. (Yes, point belabored.)

Prime Video

They also had no opportunity to flex out of a dreary matchup on a dreary evening, leaving us with riveting television like Kirk Herbstreit asking Al Michaels, “What do you think of (Jaguars HC) Liam Coen?” Or Herbstreit proving he’d heard of Fred Taylor, Mark Brunell and Jimmy Smith. Or Michaels making one of his lightly veiled references to the over/under.

Trevor Lawrence

Very modest numbers (242 yards and a TD through the humid air) – but there was absolutely no reason for Coen to be in his bag on a night when the Jags didn’t need to dig deep for a win … unless he wanted to inflate T-Law’s numbers a bit given he’s likely to be a league MVP finalist in a couple months.

Travis Hunter

Jacksonville’s two-way “star” had one catch for -1 yard and fumbled.

Brian Thomas Jr.

Despite Hunter’s lack of production, Thomas, the 2024 first-rounder, didn’t even draw a target – at a time when the Jags should at least be trying to showcase him a bit ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Jaguars run defense

Jacksonville’s streak of 25 consecutive games of not allowing a 75-yard rusher ended, Ravens RB Justice Hill’s 85-yard night mostly courtesy of his 65-yard TD sprint in garbage time.

Eric DeCosta

Gonna be an interesting few months for the Ravens GM. By opting to acquire Brissett, he’s sent a clear signal that a team that’s now 4-5 and falling deeper into the AFC North basement is unwilling to give up on a season that probably effectively ended when Jackson was injured for the latest time in Buffalo last weekend. But should DeCosta reconsider his position? Might he be better served to deal a player like RB Derrick Henry given the untenable state of Baltimore’s 2027 salary cap – nearly $46 million overspent, per Over The Cap, with Jackson accounting for $84.3 million of it himself in terms of a cap charge. And if Jackson won’t agree to a long-term, cap-relieving extension next year, DeCosta must deal with a whole other suite of personnel issues pertaining to an overleveraged roster. A lot to think about … once he’s ready to concede these Ravens aren’t going anywhere.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ravens season slipping away as Jaguars cruise: TNF winners, losers

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