The Jaguars’ dominant win over the Jets is reminiscent of Trevor Lawrence’s gift
After a methodical and efficient 19-3 win Thursday night against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, quarterback Trevor Lawrence showed up to his post-game press conference wearing a Christmas sweater.
It was given to Lawrence by Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun, and it’s part of the holiday collection from his “Team Ugly Gang” clothing brand.
The jacket retails for $55. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the lavish gift the Jets gave the Jaguars two years ago, foolishly rallying to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 just before Christmas and give them access to Lawrence as the first overall pick in the draft.
Talk about a gift that continues to be given to Jacksonville, and it may haunt the Jets for the next 10 to 15 years.
The previous three gene columns
Eye on the playoffs:The Jets’ never-say-die Jaguars targeted the playoffs after upsetting the Cowboys
Can they do it?Believe it or not, the Jaguars look like the team of playoff destiny
All correct moves:The hiring of Pederson was the right move for Jaguar and the development of Trevor Lawrence
If it wasn’t clear from Lawrence’s play in the past six weeks how a two-year-old Rams win could dramatically change the trajectory of both franchises, reality delivered the Gates with a thunderous thump in front of a prime-time national television audience and 70,043 disapproving spectators.
Lawrence confirmed his rise as an NFL Top 10 player in rainy and windy conditions, putting up respectable numbers (20 of 31, 229 yards, 1 TD rushing) and playing enough arm and leg play to ensure his team dominated the entire game.
With Lawrence playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback, the rookie Jaguars (7-8) are now two wins away – against the Houston Texans and the #1 Tennessee Titans (7-7) – from winning an AFC South title that seemed nearly impossible before Only three weeks.
“For the most part, I thought he did a good job of controlling and managing what we asked of him,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Lawrence. “The weather was obviously challenging with wind and rain, but I thought he played tough again, played physical. It was really good to see our midfielder.”
As for Zach Wilson, the second man selected by the Jets among the 2021 draft after Lawrence, he is heading dangerously into depression territory.
He did nothing against the Jaguars’ staunch defense and was eventually benched due to a no-name, former CFL quarterback Chris Striefler, a high-scoring coaching quarterback who threw just 25 NFL passes in two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
Wilson, only starting because the starting quarterback, Mike White, has a rib injury, often looking out of his league. Despite being coerced by the jubilant Jaguars, he also missed open receivers, whether airmailing a pass over Corey Davis’ head or letting a short deep ball pass.
Jets fans, who have already experienced Wilson and his 54.9 percent accuracy this season, repeatedly booed him and sluggishly insulted him throughout the game.
On a night when the windchill factor was 38 degrees, the disparity in quarterback play was a heartening reminder to the Jaguars how fortunate they feel to have Lawrence continuing to live up to all the pre-draft hype.
Seriously, can you imagine what the Jaguars would be like if they had the #2 pick in the 2021 draft and stuck with Zach Wilson instead of Trevor? Not only will the Jaguars be in position to win the AFC South title, but Pederson will likely coach elsewhere without No. 16 as a lure to take over.
Peak at the right time
For only the second time in 15 years, the Jaguars hit a three-game winning streak in December, sending a clear message that perhaps they should now be considered the best in the division over the reeling Titans.
This matchup against the Jets in a tough road environment stood out as an elimination game, according to the odds makers. But it was clear from the time Lawrence led the Jaguars on a 16-play, 96-yard drive to take a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter — he didn’t face a third down until he scored on a quarterback sneak — that the Jets’ offense doesn’t have answers.
The miserable weather conditions did not bother Lawrence or two of the most effective wingmen, tight end Evan Ingram (7 catches, 113 yards) and running back Travis Etienne (112 yards scrimmage). The Jaguars prevailed with relative ease, another sign that they are emerging as one of the NFL’s most dangerous teams as the season nears the finish line.
“It just kind of shows what we can do offensively,” Pederson said of the 96-yard TD drive. “I think it gives the players confidence throughout the game that you can build on.”
This was far from a style points contest, but perhaps the Jaguars’ most complete game since dominating the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers in back-to-back weeks three months ago.
The dangerous Jaguars defense — playing without injured starters Travon Walker and Foley Vatokasi — had eight pass breakups and eight tackles for a loss on eight different players, including three sacks. The Jets had only three first downs in seven possessions before Wilson was benched for Streveler.
“What a great feeling doing what we said we were going to do,” said outside linebacker Josh Allen. “Now we just have to finish those last two [games]. So the attention to detail and sense of urgency remains high.”
For the Jaguars, it was a complete reversal of the team that endured the 0-5 October and is now overflowing with confidence from every corner of the locker room.
“Every game we have to win, and that’s the way we approach it and we understand that, and we love it,” said Lawrence. “That’s the situation we put ourselves in, good or bad. We like where we’re at, we like the momentum we have, but yeah, good teams win these games because you have to. Just to see how the team has grown, how we’ve stuck together… .
“I think the staff and especially Coach Pederson believed in us, even when maybe we weren’t starting. It was crazy and I think he had that confidence in us, and we kind of realized we had something special here and we kind of had to figure out what we wanted to do before it was too late. We made adjustments and really started playing our best ball at the right time.”
Team mentality first
It had become fairly clear that the Jaguars, who had no players named to the Pro Bowl, had developed into a team better than the sum of their parts.
The Jets’ elimination at MetLife Stadium for the first time since 2009 was yet another example of how great Pederson, who should earn Coach of the Year consideration if the Jaguars win the AFC South title, has nurtured this team.
His call to play, which features tons of pre-snap action and keeps opponents guessing a lot more, seems to have confused the Jets’ No. 3 defense and made it even more hesitant.
The Jaguars played supplement football. When the Jets defense held on to a field goal after an early Lawrence fumble gave them the ball 16 yards from the end zone, both Jaguars units captured that momentum and held the rest of the game.
Lawrence made sure not to turn one spin into a five like he did in the tough conditions in Philadelphia in Week 4. Pederson took advantage of the running and catching skills of his receivers and Etienne, allowing Lawrence to do more damage with short passes.
“It’s just explosive plays on speed drills and that’s what the guys have done great this year,” said Lawrence. “Just getting the ball into space and our yards after catching it was really good and just the guys on the perimeter making saves on the running game just improves what the team is about.
“Everyone is selfless, we want to win, and nobody really cares who gets credit, who gets yards, who gets whatever. It’s just a matter of doing whatever it takes to win.”
Remarkably, the Jaguars find themselves in the privileged position to play for a league title and an AFC No. 4 jersey. Either a win next week in Houston, or the Titans lose just one of their next two games to the Texans and Dallas Cowboys, guarantees a win over everything with Tennessee for the title. South Asia.
Whatever negative perceptions there were about the Jaguars a month ago or for most of the past decade, it’s all gradually fading away. This is a united team, feeding off each other’s success, coming together at the right time.
A big part of that is the Jaguars getting access to Trevor Lawrence, the best Christmas gift the Jets now wish they would never give up.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
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