Trevor Lawrence couldn’t have possibly had a worse start to his first ever NFL playoff appearance. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback became the first player ever to throw three picks in the first quarter of a postseason game and then threw a fourth in the second quarter for good measure.
The turnover-filled first half gave way for the Los Angeles Chargers to bury the Jaguars in a 27-0 hole. Yet, somehow, the Jaguars climbed out of it.
Lawrence threw a touchdown before halftime and then three more in the second half to bring his team roaring back. In the final minutes, he led a drive into Chargers territory to set up a game-winning field goal.
“We love having Trevor as our quarterback. He never flinches,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said after the game. “I just love the fact that he’s leading our football team, but it’s a step in the direction that we want this organization to go, we want him to go, our team to go. We’ve just got to continue to build on that.”
Lawrence completed just 10 of his 24 passes in the first half for 77 yards. In the second half, he completed 18 of 23 passes for 211 yards and had a stellar 144.5 passer rating.
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) January 15, 2023
“It’s tough when you’re struggling and not playing well,” Lawrence said after the game. “But if I don’t continue to be myself, we don’t have a shot to win because then I’m going to miss the plays that I usually make. I just had to keep my confidence. Missed a few throws, I think where some of those turnovers where I was being a little cautious. After that I felt like I kind of got back on track and settled in.”
The Jaguars will likely face the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round, although a matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, or Baltimore Ravens is possible too.
