The Jacksonville Jaguars got the win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, but it was much closer than it should have been. Ultimately, they moved to 7-4 on the 2025 NFL season, kept pace with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Houston Texans while closing the distance on the Indianapolis Colts, but the fans could have gone without the drama that went down in this one.
There are several different reasons why Jacksonville went down to the wire in Arizona, outlasting Jacoby Brissett and the Cards, 27-24, in overtime for the victory. The easy one to point to is Trevor Lawrence, or more specifically, his four turnovers. He probably played a better game than that stat line would suggest, but obviously, he can’t continue to have multiple giveaways if this team wants to be a serious playoff threat.
However, Jacksonville had a chance to put the game away in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars were up three with the ball on the Cardinals’ 25-yard line after the defense forced a turnover on downs in Arizona territory. And yet, they allowed their opponent to kick a game-tying field goal to send the contest into overtime to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks on during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a golden opportunity to put the game away. The Arizona Cardinals had the chance to tie the game or take the lead when they got the ball back down three with just under four minutes left on the clock. However, Anthony Campanile’s defense was able to keep them from moving the chains, with help from an offensive pass interference penalty.
The Cardinals turned it over on downs just before the two-minute warning deep in their own territory. The Jaguars failed to capitalize, with Bhayshul Tuten getting stuffed on 3rd-and-1 after two short gains.
Rather than kick the field goal to force Jacoby Brissett to go the length of the field and score a touchdown, Coen elected to go for it on 4th-and-1. What made viewers even more incredulous was that he opted to throw for the first down. After the game, the media asked the head coach about his decision there:
“We didn’t run it great, obviously, getting there on the previous play. We hit the keeper to Brenton [Strange] to give us third-and-two. We get stuffed and almost lost half a yard. I think we had fourth-and-two, two-and-a-half. But hey man, we’ve been aggressive all season when it comes to those decisions.
Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks on during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Us growing as an offense, us growing as a team is trusting them in some of those moments to go make those plays and go execute in those situations. It didn’t work out this time, but hopefully those guys get the message that, ultimately, we need to go execute in those moments and for us to close people out on our terms.”
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