JACKSONVILLE – Trevor Lawrence stood tall, smiling. Deservedly so.
Lawrence, the Jaguars' starting quarterback and the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, on Sunday turned in the best NFL moment of his young career when he rallied the Jaguars from two fourth-quarter deficits to beat the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens.
"It was a lot of fun," Lawrence said after his three touchdown passes – including a 10-yarder to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. with :14 remaining – helped the Jaguars to a 28-27 victory at TIAA Bank Field.
The Jaguars won for a second time in three games, and it was a third consecutive game without an interception and with more than a 100.0 passer rating for Lawrence.
"Trevor today was lights out," Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "He played extremely well."
Those were Pederson's first words about Lawrence following Lawrence's most dramatic come-from-behind NFL victory in 28 starts. There were more.
"It's a step in the right direction, you know," Pederson said. "I would say these last three games or so, he's really done a really nice job with our system and our offense. I think he had a pretty good game and took care of the football. He's heading in the right direction."
Pederson added, "Sometimes there's a difference between what we see in Trevor and what you all might see, or a fan might see. This guy throws an incredibly good football and he's smart and he sees the field, and he can make all the throws. You're just seeing that. You're just seeing that execution with him and that maturity with him."
Lawrence completed 29 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions Sunday. He completed 15 of 19 passes for 173 yards in the fourth quarter, during which he threw touchdown passes of one yard to wide receiver Jamal Agnew and 10 yards to Jones.
"It's confidence," Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk said of Lawrence. "It's more seasoned. You're getting into the late part of the season, second year. He has seen a lot of ball now. He's starting to get a feel for learning from his past in regard to what he did good, what he did bad. We've been in some unique situations so far this year. He has been able to learn from that, take it and develop.
"Now, you're starting to see it in his confidence."
NOTABLE I
- Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. left Sunday's game with a foot injury in the second quarter and did not return. He returned to the sidelines and remained in pads throughout the game. "We didn't rule him out," Pederson said of Etienne, who has rushed for 728 yards and four touchdowns on 133 carries this season after missing his 2021 rookie season with a Lisfranc injury. "We thought he could go. We've got to get more information tonight and check him out. He was walking around the sideline, and he felt fine. I just don't want to risk it with him right now. It was just my decision to keep him out, but we'll check him out tonight and have probably a better update tomorrow." Reserve running back JaMycal Hasty rushed for 28 yards on 12 carries and caught five passes for 67 yards and a 28-yard second-quarter touchdown. "It was huge," Pederson said of Hasty. "Hat's off to him. For him to run hard like he did, catch the ball like he did, gosh, my hat's off for a guy we just added to the roster at the beginning of the year to be in this position to help us win a game like this."
NOTABLE II
- Rookie third-round inside linebacker Chad Muma made his first NFL start Sunday alongside veteran Foye Oluokun, with Muma replacing first-round rookie Devin Lloyd after Lloyd started the first 10 games of the season. Oluokun led the Jaguars with 18 tackles and 13 solo Sunday, with two tackles for loss. Muma was second on the team with nine tackles Sunday. "Overall, he did a nice job," Pederson said of Muma "You saw Foye around some plays a little bit more. It really goes to the point of simplicity. It just allows the guys to be free and play to their strengths. But from my vantage point, I thought Chad did some good things."
QUOTABLE I
- Lawrence on rallying twice in the fourth quarter Sunday: "It didn't really matter what happened. We've been on the wrong side of these a lot, and it's cool to see. Even though that's happened a lot, we still have never lost faith, always trusted one another. It felt good to be on the other side of this one. It was amazing. Obviously it feels great. It's just an awesome feeling, nothing like it. It's super cool. We're just appreciative of where we are, how far we've come, kind of what's in front of us still. You can't win seven games until you win one. We had to start today."
QUOTABLE II
- Pederson: "A win like this just kind of heads us in the right direction."
