Moeller: With Record Performance, Lawrence Ready To Fulfill Generational Promise
At halftime, the song “ Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” was blaring on the loud speaker at EverBank Stadium.
It should have been “Trevor Lawrence Is Coming to Town.”
The fifth-year quarterback, initially viewed as a generational talent, apparently has finally arrived.
Over the last month, Lawrence arguably has been one of the league’s best. And, for the Jaguars, he has placed them among the elite with an overall 10-4 record and the third seed in the AFC playoff race.
Lawrence put on a clinic Sunday afternoon at the Bank in the Jaguars’ convincing 48-20 victory over the Jets in a game that was not even as close as the 28-point deficit. Lawrence sliced and diced a shoddy Jets’ defense, completing 20 of 32 attempts for 330 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes.
Lawrence wasn’t sacked and hit only twice in spite of not having left tackle Walker Little. Backup Cole Van Lanan helped the offensive line to not miss a beat.
This arguably was Lawrence’s finest performance as a pro, and one of his finest in his overall career.
He was instrumental in the Jags scoring on eight of their first nine possessions, and also ran for a team-high 51 yards, one being a 15-yard scramble for a score.
Lawrence wasn’t totally perfect, but he didn’t disappoint with an usually bad interception. Instead, he was crisp and confident, especially when he rolled out.
As a result of his day, Lawrence became the only NFL player to throw five touchdown passes, rushed for one or more touchdowns, and rushed for more than 50 yards in a game. He had a career quarterback rating of 136.7, and has surpassed the 100-plus mark in his last three games.
He has been the catalyst in the team’s current five-game winning streak. In the process, Lawrence has thrown 11 TDs and four interceptions as compared to 10 TDs and seven interceptions over his first nine games.
Through it all, though, Lawrence has kept his mix of a mild, yet seemingly aloof nature when he was asked about current playing with a lot of confidence over the last five games.
"I mean, that's a tough question,” stated Lawrence.” I don't know. Yeah, there's been times where I’ve felt that way, and but definitely this is as confident as I've felt. Just the feeling in our locker room and our team and our offense. It's been fun.”
Running back Travis Etienne, who knows Lawrence well as a Clemson teammate, beamed about his quarterback’s progress and elevated status.
“I don't think I've ever seen Trev like this, and we won a national championship together," said Etienne. “He's on fire. You've seen it. ... The growth that I've seen from him is just unbelievable.”
Lawrence and his team certainly have raised the level of respect among their peers, but they again will be faced with the question of beating an elite team on the road when they travel to Denver next Sunday. To their credit, the Jags did win in San Francisco earlier this season.
The Jags still have the 9-5 Texans on their heels for the division title. Houston has a 4-1 division record, while Jacksonville is 3-1.
Jacksonville will finish the season with a trip to Indianapolis and then host Tennessee to round out their divisional record, while Houston will travel to LA to meet the Chargers in two weeks as their only stiff challenge with Las Vegas and Indianapolis as the remaining two.
If Lawrence can work more magic in Denver, the Jags should be in the driver’s seat to win the division and host a playoff game.
Whatever happens, Lawrence is enjoying the ride.
"So we have to continue to build on that and can't get complacent,” stressed Lawrence. “There's still a lot more ahead of us. 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.”
The Jags also recognize their generational quarterback has apparently arrived.
