LAS VEGAS – Aidan O’Connell returned from injury to pass for 257 yards, and the Las Vegas Raiders ended a 10-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

The Raiders, whose elimination streak was the longest active streak in the NFL, won for the first time since a 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 29. However, the win means the Raiders (3-12) are tied for the league’s top-worst New York Giants (2-13). The team with the worst record is eligible for the top pick in next year’s draft.

Jacksonville (3-12) has lost seven of its last eight games and is 2-9 in one-score contests.

O’Connell made his first start in two weeks. He did not play in the 15-9 loss to Atlanta on Monday night due to a left knee injury.

Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers caught 11 passes for 99 yards, 10 yards shy of breaking Mike Ditka’s 63-year-old NFL rookie record for tight ends. Ditka had 1,076 yards in 1961. Bowers became the third rookie tight end to reach 1,000 yards in a season, joining Ditka and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts in 2021.

Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. caught nine passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, giving him 73 catches this season and breaking the rookie club record of 64 set by Justin Blackmon in 2012. Thomas is also the Jaguars’ rookie record holder for receiving yards (1,087). ) and touchdowns (nine).

Mac Jones passed for 247 yards and a TD for the Jaguars.

This is the first game this season in which the Raiders are not behind by double digits. Their 14-game season-opening streak was bettered only by the Indianapolis Colts’ 16-game streak in 1986.

The Raiders’ 10-game losing streak was the fifth-longest in franchise history and the longest since 16 straight losses between the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

Las Vegas even had a chance to score on two possessions late in the third quarter, but Daniel Carlson missed a 46-yard field goal with 2:18 left. Jacksonville took advantage when Jones found a wide-open Thomas deep on the left side of the field for a 62-yard touchdown and a 14-13 lead with 54 seconds left in the third.

Las Vegas responded with a 10-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in Ameer Abdullah’s 7-yard scoring run less than four minutes into the fourth quarter. O’Connell’s pass on a 2-point conversion was wiped out, giving the Raiders a 19-14 lead.

Injuries

Jaguars: LT Walker Little (ankle), RT Anton Harrison (shoulder), S Darnell Savage (concussion) and LB Ventrell Miller (ankle) were injured.

Raiders: CBs Nate Hobbs (illness) and Sam Webb (back/illness) and G Jordan Meredith (ankle) did not play.

Next

Jaguars: Host Tennessee on Sunday.

Raiders: Visit New Orleans on Sunday.

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