Written by Mark Long
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence turned and moved left to avoid pressure, squared his shoulders as much as he could with a defender in front of him and threw the ball 50 yards toward the sideline.
More than a pass, it looked like an attempt to get rid of the ball.
In fact, the delivery was perfectly placed to Parker Washington, who was sprinting down the field.
Lawrence smiled, shrugged, and looked toward the Jacksonville bench. He realized that this was the second time in as many weeks that he had turned a broken play into a big profit, and he moved on. There wasn’t much to say, as the best performance of Lawrence’s five-year NFL career came against the New York Jets.
The quarterback finished with 330 yards, five touchdowns and a career-high 136.7 passer rating. He also ran for 51 yards and a touchdown. Three days later, Lawrence was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week.
He has a chance to be the AFC Player of the Month for December, too, especially if he continues to step up on Sunday, when the surprising Jaguars (10-4) play at home to defensive tackle Denver (12-2).
“I feel like I see everything very well,” Lawrence said. “I think I’m shooting well. Offensively, in general, it’s never about one player. As an offense, we’re really in sync now, especially in the passing game and guarding on offense.”
“We’re all very confident in what we’re doing. We seem to have gained momentum in the last few weeks, so I feel good.”
Lawrence has thrown for at least 225 yards and two touchdowns in four straight weeks. He has not recorded any turnovers in his last three games, which is Lawrence’s longest error-free stretch since the Jaguars drafted him with the No. 1 pick in 2021.
There are reasons for its recent success.
Coach Liam Quinn tops the list. The play-caller and Lawrence understood each other, building a level of consistency and cohesion that Lawrence rarely found as a starter under coach Urban Meyer or during three years under Doug Pederson, who changed passing game coordinators and relinquished play-calling duties after his first season in Jacksonville.
Quinn has received rave reviews within the team’s facilities for his communication skills and willingness to adapt, with no bigger moves than making trades for safeties like Jacoby Myers and Tim Patrick, inserting backup left tackle Cole Van Lanen into the starting lineup and staying committed to the running game helping to keep Lawrence upright and healthy.
“When you’re building, you just have to make sure you’re doing the right things everywhere and putting the best 11 guys in there,” Quinn said. “Individual success is very important to us. We want every player to get what they really deserve and win…but they have to get back to the team first.
“At the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is that. Put the team first, protect the team and give ourselves the best chance to win on Sunday.”
The Jaguars have won five straight and six of seven since the bye week. Their only loss was the biggest collapse in franchise history. They are averaging 34.2 points per game during the winning streak.
Lawrence receives and deserves a lot of credit.
He finally looks like the generational quarterback the Jaguars thought they would get nearly five years ago when the previously winless Jets beat the Rams and Cleveland in back-to-back weeks late in the 2020 season to essentially hand the No. 1 overall pick to Jacksonville.
His mistakes have diminished, and he’s using his legs like never before. He ranks fifth in franchise history with 20 rushing touchdowns, including a career-high six this season, and ranks third in franchise history with 92 touchdown passes in 74 starts.
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