The Sports Xchange
Nov 26, 2017
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Phil Dawson kicked a career-long 57-yard field goal with one second remaining in regulation to lift the Arizona Cardinals to a 27-24 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Dawson made all four of his field-goal attempts on the afternoon, also connecting from 34, 42 and 48 yards.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinals (5-6) and ended a four-game winning streak for the Jaguars (7-4).
The Cardinals had a 13-point lead following Dawson's third field goal with 11:29 remaining in the third quarter. But things started to get wild after that and momentum began swinging back and forth.
First, it went to the Jaguars, who drove 75 yards on seven plays, capped by a 1-yard bootleg run by quarterback Blake Bortles for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 16-10. Jacksonville's defense, the best in the league in scoring defense, sacks and forcing turnovers, then rose to the occasion.
Linebacker Paul Posluszny knocked the ball out of Blaine Gabbert's hands while the quarterback was under pressure and ex-Cardinal lineman Calais Campbell picked it up and returned the fumble 10 yards for a touchdown with 12:10 remaining to give the Jaguars their first lead at 17-16.
Gabbert, though, found some redemption in going deep down the field on Arizona's ensuing possession and finding Jaron Brown open for a 52-yard touchdown pass. The Cardinals went for the two-point conversion and Gabbert hit Larry Fitzgerald to make it 24-17.
The Jaguars tied it up thanks in part to a 68-yard kickoff return by Corey Grant. Four plays later, Bortles ran for another touchdown, picking up a perfect block from receiver Keelan Cole and scoring from 17 yards out to tie the score at 24.
Bortles led Jacksonville in rushing with 62 yards on six carries.
Gabbert, making his second start for Arizona, completed 23 of 38 passes for 241 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Bortles was 19 of 33 for 160 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
After a slow start and getting virtually shut down by opposing defenses in his last two games, Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson finished with 79 yards on 20 carries.
With a handful of runs in the third quarter, Peterson passed Hall of Famer Marcus Allen (12,243 career yards) for 13th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list and also eclipsed Edgerrin James (12,246) for 12th place. With 12,275 career yards, he is now just five yards shy of surpassing Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk (12,279) for 11th all-time.
Chandler Jones had two sacks for Arizona, giving him 13 on the year. He had five tackles for loss overall.
The Cardinals led 13-3 at halftime thanks to Gabbert's touchdown pass to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones and field goals of 34 and 42 yards by Dawson.
Arizona scored on its opening possession as Gabbert completed four of his first five passes, including a 26-yard hook-up with Seals-Jones on third down, before having to settle for Dawson's 34-yarder.
Neither team could get much going offensively, and with the Jaguars driving into Cardinals' territory early in the second quarter, running back Chris Ivory fumbled. Linebacker Josh Bynes forced it, linebacker Karlos Dansby recovered it and five plays later, Dawson kicked his second field goal of the half for a 6-0 lead.
After another tough defensive stand by Arizona, the Jaguars were forced to punt on their ensuing possession and four plays later, Gabbert hit Seals-Jones over the middle for a 29-yard catch and run for the score and a 13-3 lead. It was the third touchdown catch for Seals-Jones, an undrafted rookie free agent, in the past two weeks.
The Cardinals lost starting inside linebacker Deone Bucannon in the first quarter to a right ankle injury. Bucannon missed the final three games of last season and the first three games of this season due to a severe ankle injury that required offseason surgery.
NOTES: Jacksonville was playing without two of its starting offensive linemen -- left guard Patrick Omameh (quadriceps) and right tackle Jermey Parnell (knee). ... The Cardinals were without wide receivers John Brown (toe) and Brittan Golden (groin). ... With 12 carries on Sunday, Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette now has 187 on the season, which is the second-most in a single season by a rookie in franchise history. Fred Taylor had 264 rushing attempts in 1998. ... In his previous two games, Arizona RB Adrian Peterson rushed 35 times for 55 yards, an average of just 1.6 yards per carry.