Jacksonville Jaguars vs Dallas Cowboys match report: Woeful Jags easily beaten by play-off hungry Cowboys
Jacksonville fell to another largely self-inflicted loss
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Your support makes all the difference.No last second field goal, no dramatic winning touchdown; the final London game of the season was finished before half-time.
Jacksonville’s return to London was once again soured by an abysmal performance that saw the team thrashed by the Dallas Cowboys 31-17 and left a very large Wembley stadium looking very empty before the final whistle was even blown.
In what was a tantalising start, the Jaguars were able to get the first touchdown on the board when running back Denard Robinson produced a blistering 32-yard run, seemingly skipping through the Cowboys defence to put the Jacksonville in front.
They looked confident and in control, forcing Dallas to a three and out on their next possession. The resulting punt, however, was dropped by Jaguars returner Ace Sanders on the 14-yard line with the Cowboys quick to recover the loose ball. Quarterback Tony Romo punished Jacksonville’s mistake, converting a 2-yard touchdown pass with tight end Jason Witten soon after the turnover.
This was to be the start of an onslaught that saw Dallas propel into an unattainable lead. Wide receiver Dez Bryant ripped apart a Jacksonville defence incapable of tackling him. Bryant made one of the moves of the night, catching a short pass from Romo on the 35-yard line to then waltz past numerous defenders into the end zone.
Barely two minutes later the former Oklahama State man was at it again, converting a beautiful 68-yard TD pass from Romo to leave Dallas 24-7 up and Bryant with 158 receiving yards in the first half alone.
Missed tackles were the story of Jacksonville’s first half and this theme continued throughout the rest of the game. The Cowboys superb offensive line created lanes most running backs can only dream of and they capitalised on this early in the second half with a monster 40-yard touchdown run by Joseph Randle.
The Jaguars’ defence were unable to contain the Dallas offence and in turn left too much for a young and inexperienced Blake Bortles to do. With nearly 300 yards passing, Bortles had a statistically solid night, however his presence on the field failed to inspire much in his offence and so did little in impacting the final score.
Other than their early touchdown, Jacksonville were unable to unite the Wembley crowd behind them. A late safety and a garbage time touchdown run by Robinson were the only real Jacksonville highlights in the second half and even this failed to woo the crowd.
Jacksonville, now 1-9, leave London once again completely beaten on a Wembley pitch they have had few fortunes on. At least for the Florida based team, there is always next year.
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