Jaguars have touchdown fest against Jets. Our postgame recap.
Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter Demetrius Harvey shares his thoughts on the team’s impressive win over the Jets on Sunday.
It’s the best Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has looked since he donned the Black and Teal.
If you ask his teammate of eight years (between college and the pros), running back Travis Etienne, it’s the best Lawrence has looked, full stop.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Trev like this. We won a national championship together and I feel like he’s just out there on fire, man,” Etienne said after the team’s 48-20 blowout win over the New York Jets on Sunday.
Lawrence completed 20 of 32 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns through the air. He was also the team’s leading rusher with five runs for 51 yards and a score. He’s the first Jaguars QB in team history to total six touchdowns. Three of his touchdown passes went to Etienne, who caught three receiving TDs for the first time in his career.
For a second straight week, Lawrence made a draw-dropping throw while on the run to the left side of the field. Only this time, he hit receiver Parker Washington for a 33-yard pitch and catch.
The ball looked like he shot it to the moon, only for it to fall right in Washington’s bread basket. The ball might have easily traveled about 50 yards in the air as Lawrence immediately rolled out and was under pressure before he made the toss.
“You seen it. He rolled out again and he just kind of stopped and [shoot], Parker [Washington]’s down there somewhere,” Etienne said with a laugh.
“He launched it and Parker made a great catch. I’m just grateful I’m on his team and the growth that I’ve seen from him is just unbelievable. It forces everybody else to step up their game as well,” Etienne said.
Lawrence has been on a run through the team’s five-game winning streak to get them to double-digit wins for the first time since 2017.
Since Week 11, Lawrence has completed 85 of 141 (60%) of his passes for 1,212 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. According to ESPN, Lawrence is the only player in NFL history to have five or more passing touchdowns, one or more rushing touchdowns and at least 50 rushing yards in a single game.
His confidence has risen and Etienne feels like Lawrence has been “locked in” lately.
“Just confidence, man. I feel like Trevor just continues to grow, continues to get better, and man, just the confidence, the swagger he’s playing with,” said Etienne.
“He’s locked in, he’s commanding the field, he’s commanding the offense. As long as he keeps doing that, the sky’s the limit for us.”
Jaguars receiver Jakobi Meyers wasn’t surprised by Lawrence’s performance. At this point, he said in the postgame locker room, it’s expected.
“We know he’s a talented player. And then mentally, he’s just holding us all accountable. He does his job as a quarterback. He’s just great for this team,” said Meyers.
Head coach Liam Coen said he feels Sunday’s game was one of the best ones he’s seen out of Lawrence, “absolutely.”
“You could feel it throughout the weeks, the last few weeks especially, that he’s continuously gained more and more confidence, continuity and chemistry with the guys he’s playing with,” Coen said after the game, adding that for a second straight week, Lawrence executed a play essentially on his own from what was expected.
“That’s him being special. That’s him being a football player and making a play,” Coen added.
Trevor Lawrence feels ‘as confident as ever’ as Jaguars sprint to playoffs
Lawrence has had some incredible performances in his career. Against the Baltimore Ravens in 2022, for instance, Lawrence completed 29 of 37 (78.4%) of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a come-from-behind, last-minute victory.
He’s had 11 game-winning drives since entering the league as the first-overall pick in 2021. And again, now he’s playing at a high level just as the team gets set to potentially win their second AFC South title with him at quarterback.
“Just the feeling in our locker room and our team and our offense. It’s been fun. So we have to continue to build on that and can’t get complacent. There’s still a lot more ahead of us,” Lawrence cautioned.
“Some big games are coming up, so we have to continue to push and get better. There are still things we need to clean up, but it’s been a lot of fun. I feel great, feel confident. I think our whole offense feels this way.”
Lawrence was asked about playing a bit more backyard football on the field lately. The play he made to Washington this week and Tim Patrick last week are examples.
Lawrence chalked that up to his teammates blocking well for him up front. Jacksonville’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack for a second straight week. It marks the first time since the 2022 season that Lawrence has gone two weeks in a row without taking a sack in the regular season.
“If you don’t protect and you don’t have time, then it’s hard to extend plays and do that, but we’ve protected so well. It’s not like I’m scrambling because I’m running for my life,” said Lawrence.
“It’s because we’re able to get guys — sometimes the coverage covers plays up and you have to extend plays, but we block so well that there’s lanes for me to get out. Those guys have done an awesome job.”
Lawrence has improvised a lot of plays in Jacksonville and Sunday against the Jets was just another example of it.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn took issue with his team for not getting to Lawrence, describing the Jaguars’ QB play as sometimes playing “hero ball.”
“It’s hard to explain it, to be honest with you. Especially knowing that he’s the guy that’s going to hold the ball and he’s going to try to play hero ball for the most part,” said Glenn.
“Not a bad part on him, that’s just who he is, and he’s made a lot of plays. And when you do that like he did today, we have to do a better job of getting to the quarterback and make sure we get hits on the quarterback, and we did not do that today.”
Coen didn’t have much else to offer about Lawrence, only that he’s “playing at a high level right now.”
Jaguars get set for playoff-like bout with Denver Broncos
The Jaguars will travel to Denver for the team’s final trip out west this season in Week 16 to face the Broncos.
The game could determine the final seeding for the AFC side of the playoffs. It will also give Jacksonville even more room in the AFC South as the division’s top team.
“There’s still so much room to continue to grow as a team. As you get into December, playing your best football is very important. We have another opportunity to go do that this (coming) Sunday,” Coen said.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius.
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