QB Trevor Lawrence delivered a career-best, six-TD performance despite a hand injury, fueling the Jaguars' dominant victory over the New York Jets on Sunday in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars handled the New York Jets, 48-20, at Everbank Stadium on Sunday in Jacksonville to push their record to 10-4.
It's Jacksonville's fifth straight victory and the first 10-win season since 2017, when QB Blake Bortles led the team to the AFC championship game, where they fell to the New England Patriots.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had the best game of his career. Despite an obviously sore right hand, Lawrence threw five touchdown passes on 20-for-32 attempts and 330 yards. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft also ran in a TD and finished Sunday with a 136.7 QB rating.
QB Trevor Lawrence scrambled for a TD in the first quarter as the Jaguars hosted the Jets on Sunday in Jacksonville. (Morgan Tencza/Imagn Images)Starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. caught three of those TD passes for his only three receptions of the day, for 73 yards. Etienne also rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries.
By halftime, the Jags had scored four touchdowns, and totalled six for the day.
Lawrence injured his throwing hand in the second quarter, getting spiked by another player's shoe while on the ground, going after a loose ball. He went to the sideline to have his right index finger taped, then returned to the game. On the next possession, the fifth-year starter tossed a 33-yard pass to receiver Brian Thomas Jr., leading to a Jags field goal with 1:33 on the clock.
Jags defenders then intercepted Jets QB Brady Cook, to give Lawrence another shot at scoring before halftime. Etienne caught a 20-yard pass in the end zone with 21 seconds on the clock, to put Jacksonville up 31-10 before heading into the locker room.
WR Brian Thomas Jr. scored just minutes into Week 15's Jets-Jags matchup, catching one of QB Trevor Lawrence's five TD passes of the day. (Travis Registrar/Imagn Images)Asked about Lawrence's hand as the team came back out onto the field for the second half, head coach Liam Coen said, "He's all good – it clearly hasn't bothered him much."
Sunday was the seventh straight game the Jaguars have scored at least 25 points. (They downed the Cardinals in Week 12 in overtime 27-24 in Arizona.)
The Jaguars did not need to run the ball against the Jets, whose eighth-ranked passing defense was picked apart by Lawrence and a variety of pass-catchers.
WR Jakobi Meyers caught five passes for 71 yards; Thomas had four catches for 66 yards and a TD; and Parker Washington, in his first game back from injury, had 53 yards on three catches.
QB Trevor Lawrence congratulates RB Bhayshul Tuten, who ran a 4-yeard pass into the end zone in the second quarter as the Jaguars hosted the Jets on Sunday. (Travis Registrar/Imagn Images)Jacksonville sits alone atop the AFC South. With three games left in the regular season, the Jaguars have not yet clinched the division title, nor a spot in the playoffs. The Texans (9-5) defeated the Arizona Cardinals (3-11) in Houston on Sunday to stay one game back in the AFC South race.
The Jets (2-12) threatened in the first half, scoring 10 points behind the respectable play of Cook, their third-string quarterback. The undrafted rookie made his first NFL start Sunday in Jacksonville, with starter Justin Fields and backup Tyrod Taylor sidelined with injuries.
While Cook's first half seemed promising, the untested QB was sacked three times and had three interceptions Sunday; he went 22-for-33 passing for 176 yards and one TD.
The Jaguars could clinch in the AFC and get a first-round bye if they win their final three contests of the season. The Texans could help their cause by winning out and if Jacksonville drops any of its remaining games. The Colts have a less sure chance to make the postseason, but they would need the Texans to lose before season's end and would need to beat the Jags in the second half of their head-to-head in Indianapolis in both team's final regular-season game.
QB Trevor Lawrence scrambles out of reach of Jets defenders. New York had no sacks on Sunday in Jacksonville, as Lawrence had a record passing day. (Travis Registrar/Imagn Images)Trevor Lawrence's 4-yard pass to receiver Brian Thomas Jr. gave the Jags their first TD at 10:18 in the first quarter.
Less than four minutes later, Lawrence scrambled for 15 yards to score. Running back Bhayshul Tuten caught a short pass and ran it into the end zone from 16 yards out less than a minute into the second quarter.
Cook tossed a nine-yard TD pass to Adonai Mitchell with 1:47 left in the first quarter. The teams traded field goals before Lawrence hooked up with Etienne Jr. for the first of his three TD catches Sunday, a 20-yard reception to give the Jaguars a 31-10 lead at halftime.