At first, it was just a touchdown pass. Just one score from the Jaguars to cut their deficit to four with a chance to pull away against the Chargers late in the fourth quarter.
But the reaction from Los Angeles outfielder Joey Bosa changed that.
He believed the officials missed a false start penalty on Jacksonville’s pass — hitting his helmet on the field near the Chargers’ sideline — and called the second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game.
The Jaguars elected to advance the ball to the 1-yard line and Trevor Lawrence crossed the goal line for the 2-point conversion to make it a two-point game. Four minutes later, after Jacksonville got the ball back, Bosa’s costly penalty tipped the game for good for the Jaguars.
Kicker Riley Patterson hit the game-winning field goal as time expired, allowing the Jaguars to pull off an improbable 31-30 come-from-behind victory.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson he told reporters after the match that he probably wouldn’t have gone for the 2-point conversion without the penalty.
After throwing away his helmet, Chargers coach Brandon Staley handed it back to Bosa. Bosa then proceeded to punt again, this time down the sideline. He sat on the bench and watched the referees gather to discuss the series and award the penalty against him.
Bosa’s first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty came near the end of the third quarter when he complained to a referee after Jacksonville’s touchdown pass followed by a 2-point conversion attempt.
In addition to his two penalties, Bosa recorded a tackle, recorded a quarterback hit and recovered a fumble in the first half. The 27-year-old defensive end was selected by the Chargers with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 draft. Played in just five regular season games this season due to a groin injury that required surgeryaccording to NFL.com.
