Trevor Lawrence is back in control.

The Jacksonville Jaguars franchise quarterback is riding the hottest four-game stretch of his career, completing 60.8 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 112 yards and a couple scores on the ground. He also hasn’t turned it over in a career-best four consecutive games, all victories, to keep the Jaguars alive for their first No. 1 playoff seed since 1999.

The 26-year-old is playing with supreme confidence now that he’s got nearly a full season’s worth of work in new coach Liam Coen’s system.

“He’s able to just go out and play freely,” Coen told The Athletic, “now that he’s more comfortable with the operation.”

Coen’s offense, which is loaded with principles from his four seasons with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, was always going to take time to implement with the Jaguars. Before the season, a source with knowledge of the system predicted it would take at least half the year before Lawrence felt comfortable, and that his trajectory might not truly begin to soar until 2026. Considering Coen’s success in 2024 with quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with the impression he left with two seasons at Kentucky, there was confidence Lawrence’s progress would be worth the wait.

If that’s indeed the case, judging by Lawrence’s recent ascension, the Jaguars could be even more dangerous a season from now.

But don’t kick the can too far down the road, not while the Jags are leading the AFC South and in contention for the conference’s top seed. They just dismantled the AFC-leading Denver Broncos, 34-20, at Mile High, and Lawrence was in total control with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score. They’ve also been averaging 33 points per game since Week 9, second most in the NFL over that span.

“We haven’t changed a single thing from the moment we started coaching him,” Coen said. “Sometimes, it just takes time to click.”

The deadline trade for slot receiver Jakobi Meyers has surely helped the Jags. Meyers has recorded 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with the Jaguars and just signed a three-year, $60 million extension last week. His command over the middle of the field, coupled with tight end Brenton Strange’s return, has helped receivers like Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington produce outside the numbers.

The Jaguars’ run concepts are pivotal, too. No, they aren’t running with a great deal of efficiency, ranked 19th in yards and 26th in yards per attempt despite racking up the fifth-most attempts in the NFL. But the commitment has balanced the offense, and defensive coordinators have noted that challenge. Coen is also unafraid to use Lawrence as a designed runner, as he did Sunday with a QB draw out of an empty formation for the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.

Back and forth we goooo@trevorlawrence | #JAXvsDEN on FOXpic.twitter.com/ySt0CgOLMW

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 21, 2025

Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has made the simple plays with so much more consistency. He had 11 interceptions and three lost fumbles in the Jags’ first 11 games of the season, so his recent eradication of turnovers has provided a huge boost, especially for a team that still leads the league in dropped passes and has racked up the second most penalties.

Beyond that, Lawrence’s footwork has also been cleaner, and he’s cut back on unnecessary off-platform throws. It’s all tied into confidence in his reads and progressions.

Remember, Lawrence hit a similar hot streak in the back half of the 2022 season, as his comfort grew with former coach Doug Pederson’s system. Lawrence’s breakthrough led to a playoff victory, but injuries and sloppy mistakes halted the Jaguars’ progress over Pederson’s last two seasons before his firing.

Coen’s arrival was expected to provide a boost for Lawrence, but growing pains were expected. In training camp, Lawrence estimated 85-90 percent of Coen’s play calls actually included two plays, the intended play, and one Lawrence could check into at the line of scrimmage; he’d never dealt with that level of responsibility.

Now, everything looks smooth. Lawrence has felt the game slow down at the line with motions, shifts and alerts. Coen said it’s a testament to Lawrence’s work ethic throughout the week with offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple.

“Trevor is able to tell me things with the offense that he likes and doesn’t,” Coen said. “Trevor gives me confidence to call pass plays, and he is executing at a high level.”

The Jaguars felt a shift with the passing attack in Week 10 during practice. And although the Jags gave away a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Houston Texans that week — their most recent loss — they felt they were getting closer.

Coen wanted Lawrence to feel more freedom to let it rip, to establish the control that he’s worked so hard to master.

And he’s experiencing unprecedented success as a result.

Is Tua ’Phinished?

Tua Tagovailoa was benched last week, once again putting his long-term viability as the Miami Dolphins’ franchise quarterback in peril.

The 2020 first-round pick led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards in 2023, but he wasn’t as consistently effective in 2024 despite boasting the league’s best completion percentage (72.9) before the entire operation fell flat this season. Tagovailoa isn’t solely responsible for the steady decline, as injuries and roster construction have been major factors, but the lefty’s performance hasn’t been good enough.

There’s no need to rehash all the intricacies of the decision over Tagovailoa’s future, which is complicated with $54 million in guaranteed money in 2026. Tagovailoa doesn’t have any trade value — short of extreme examples such as the Dolphins eating an obscene amount of money or attaching high-quality picks in a deal — so they’ve either got to keep him with a new development plan or just cut ties.

There’s one path that could help the Dolphins down the road if they’re able to execute the plan. If they cut Tagovailoa after the season, they’d eat $99.2 million in dead money and incur a $42.8 million cap penalty on top of his $56.4 million hit in 2026, according to Over The Cap. The Dolphins could also spread out the damage by designating Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut.)

Such a move would make it virtually impossible for the Dolphins to field a competitive team in 2026 because of the cap charges devoted to a player who’d be elsewhere, but it would give them an opportunity to clear the books for 2027. They’d have to make other moves to mitigate the damage, possibly involving receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle or edge rusher Bradley Chubb.

However, the Dolphins already fired general manager Chris Grier, and coach Mike McDaniel’s future is also in focus. But if owner Stephen Ross is OK with releasing Tagovailoa, he’d be giving his new regime an impossible task in his first season. Such a decision would have an impact on their coaching search, if there is one.

Therefore, the Dolphins could give McDaniel one more season. If they do that, though, it could also make sense to keep interim general manager Champ Kelly in his role through 2026. Those would be harsh circumstances for both McDaniel and Kelly, and there’s risk involved with the optics, both internally and externally.

But if the Dolphins clear the books and struggle again on the field, they’d be well-positioned for Arch Manning, LaNorris Sellers and other potential top quarterbacks in the 2027 NFL Draft. They’d also create a possibility to hire a package deal at coach and GM, maybe even with the best openings on the market to reel in the best available candidates.

It’s an extreme idea, and the Dolphins would invite criticism if they followed through with it. But for an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game in a quarter century — and only has three postseason appearances under Ross’ guidance — it’s time to shake the tree.

Baker’s dozen (plus a pair)

Baker Mayfield was a bona fide MVP candidate in the first half of the season, climbing as high as No. 3 in the QB rankings and staying in the top five from Weeks 6-12. He was in the top nine all season.

So, it was not taken lightly to drop him to No. 15. It’s partly because of his performance, which also factors in his injuries and the team’s play and health around him. But there’s been so much inconsistency around the NFL this season — starting at No. 4, as we detailed last week — in the top half of the rankings, that a slump can yield a free fall.

Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow have experienced it, while Lawrence, Justin Herbert and Sam Darnold are recent examples of QBs who have shot up the rankings while riding hot streaks. Expect similar fluctuations with the rankings over the final two weeks of the season.

Mayfield, who is playing through injuries, has seven turnovers and seven total touchdowns over the Bucs’ last six games, and he has completed 57 percent of his passes for an average of 158.7 passing yards along with 29.5 rushing yards over that span. The Bucs are 1-5 and have fallen out of the playoff picture during that stretch.

With all that context, there was just no way we could keep him in the top 10 any longer.