(London) Read the reports of the games played on Sunday in the NFL.
Calvin Ridley caught a touchdown pass against his former team, Darious Williams returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Jaguars (2-2) ended a two-game losing streak with several big plays. The team was playing its 10th game in London and limited the Falcons in the second half as they attempted a comeback.
Ridley is making up for lost time. He was suspended for the entire 2022 season because he violated the NFL’s betting policy.
“I’m so proud of Calvin after what he went through. He has put a lot of things behind him and is focused on the future, said Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. He does things the right way. We love having him on our team. »
Trevor Lawrence avoided pressure from Richie Grant and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ridley in the first quarter.
Williams got between receiver Drake London and quarterback Desmond Ridder, outrunning the Falcons into the end zone to give the Jaguars a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. It was the first interception returned for a touchdown in London since 2016.
The Falcons (2-2) have lost their last two outings and Ridder, making his eighth NFL start, showed his inexperience by being the victim of an interception on two consecutive passes in the first half.
“I did a bad job protecting the ball,” Ridder said. We have to find a way to start games better and I have to pay more attention to the ball. »
After Williams’ interception, Andre Cisco made a steal against Ridder and brought the ball back to the Falcons 20 line. Cisco fumbled the ball, but his teammate Foyesade Oluokun recovered it at the 16 line.
Pederson decided not to go for a short field goal to give his team a 20-point lead and Lawrence was the victim of a sack by David Onyemata on fourth down.
Lawrence completed 23 of 30 passes for 207 yards, including one touchdown pass. Christian Kirk had eight catches for 84 yards while Ridley, the Falcons’ 2018 first-round pick, had two catches for a total of 38 yards.
“There’s even more for us on offense. I missed a few plays that I wasn’t proud of,” Lawrence observed.
The Atlanta team came back strong in the second half and Ridder orchestrated a 75-yard offensive series. He connected with London in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 17-7.
With just over six minutes left in the game, London put just one foot on play in the end zone on a fourth down, essentially ending the Falcons’ comeback attempt .
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson had 105 yards on 14 carries.
Brandon McManus made three field goals for the Jaguars, including a very long one of 56 yards.
Ridder saw 19 of his 31 attempts through the air caught for gains of 192 yards. He threw a touchdown pass and two interceptions.
