Trevor

Lawrence

It goes without saying that the first five-score day through the air of Lawrence’s career was also his first six-touchdown outing. Leveling up seemingly every week over the past month, Lawrence had his most emphatic improvement yet against the Jets’ bottom-basement defense. Directing the ball to whomever was open, Lawrence found four players for at least 50-plus receiving yards, and six for 20-plus. Travis Etienne led the way, with all three of his receptions ending up in the end zone, including a 45-yarder on a screen. Lawrence’s most impressive plays were improvisations, including his 15-yard rushing score. The pass was a 33-yard, non-scoring fadeaway jumper to Parker Washington. There was a scary moment in the first half where Lawrence banged his passing hand, but he never missed a snap and seemingly never missed a throw. Lawrence’s hot streak will be put to the toughest of Week 16 tests as the Jags venture on the road to Denver. Despite his hot play, he will remain outside the top 12 for that one.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen referred to Lawrence’s ankle injury as “nothing really,” adding that Lawrence is “fine.” The Jaguars’ quarterback practiced fully on Thursday and Friday, so we believe Coen. Lawrence is on the QB1/2 borderline for his Week 15 game against the Jets.

Wednesday’s limited session was likely just a little extra rest for the franchise signalcaller. He’ll be near the QB1/QB2 borderline in Week 15 against a Jets defense that has been waylaid by opposing passing games all season.

This is Lawrence’s first appearance on the injury report this year, which is longer than most players make it before dealing with some. A limited practice puts him on track to play this week, though the ankle issue could limit his mobility. Lawrence has 251 rushing yards and five scores on the ground this year. Some of his best fantasy outings have been fueled by his nose for the end zone as a runner. Lawrence will stick in the QB2 ranks for his Week 15 date with the Jets.

He was benched for Jacksonville’s last two series with an insurmountable lead. Lawrence had a couple of great throws to Brian Thomas Jr. downfield, but his best throw came with the Colts sending a big blitz on third-down. Lawrence saw the blitz and backpedaled to the sideline to buy enough time to find Tim Patrick and keep the drive alive. The Jaguars seized control of the AFC South lead with the win, and with Daniel Jones likely lost for the season with an Achilles tear (or so it looked), it looks like they’ve got a great shot at a playoff berth. Lawrence will be a very interesting QB1 streamer next week against the Jets’ sad sack defense.

Lawrence and the Jaguars offense hit a groove in the first quarter and hardly had to do much the rest of the game. He completed long throws to Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers in the first quarter, capping off the drive with a short touchdown pass to Meyers. On the next possession, Lawrence found Brenton Strange over the middle of the field for his second score of the game, adding two more points a two-point conversion sneak. Lawrence was sacked three times and struggled a bit in the pocket after LT Walker Little (concussion) left the game. However, his second half did not need much nuance as the Jaguars defense locked up the offense in a blowout victory. Lawrence will certainly face more resistance against the Colts in Week 14 and will rank as a fantasy QB2.

Lawrence’s play remains volatile. Backed up in their own territory, on the Jaguars’ second drive, Lawrence wound up to fire a pass when Cardinals S Jalen Thompson hit him from behind, sending the ball straight to DL Walter Nolen, who cradled it with one hand before taking off for a leaping pick-six into the end zone. Lawrence’s second interception occurred on a red zone play in which he targeted WR Jakobi Meyers, who had beaten CB Garrett Williams in the end zone. Unfortunately, Cardinals DL Calais Campbell tipped the ball into Williams’ hands by getting tall at the line of scrimmage. Lawrence’s third pick was simply an errant pass thrown straight into LB Akeem Davis-Gaither’s hands. On the plus side, Lawrence scrambled when the opportunity presented itself, and he helpfully remembered to look WR Parker Washington’s way in the second half. Lawrence is a high-end QB2 in a good matchup against the Titans next week.

With the Jags road paving on the ground and the Chargers self destructing basically every time they handled the ball, Lawrence’s constant misses and overthrows didn’t matter in a game that was 21-6 midway through the third quarter and 35-6 four minutes into the fourth. We suppose “constant misses” is a bit strong, but Lawrence remains so inaccurate on all but the easiest passes. He isn’t hitting any “big-time throws” under new play-caller Liam Coen. It just somehow hasn’t really mattered as the Jags have eked out a 6-4 record. It has mattered in fantasy, where Lawrence is struggling even for QB2 status heading into an admittedly plus Week 12 matchup with the Cardinals. We will probably rank him in the top 20 for that one.

Lawrence’s fourth-quarter line as the Jaguars tried to protect a dwindling 29-17 win was: 0-for-1, 0 yards, three sacks. Woof. There are excuses to be made — the run game also wasn’t producing, it’s a great defense, nobody on the team he’s used to throwing to besides Parker Washington — but nothing said more than Liam Coen slamming the call sheet on the ground after Lawrence’s game-sealing fumble-six when 10 or so yards would have bought them a go-ahead field goal attempt. Lawrence will get the Chargers next Sunday in a battle that could determine a lot about the AFC Wild Card picture. The Jaguars will need better than this to win that game.

Meyers finally finds his way out of Vegas four months after requesting a trade to escape Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme. Meyers never gelled with Geno Smith and hardly saw an increase in usage during Brock Bowers’ extended injury absence. Meyers managed 32 catches for 352 yards and zero touchdowns over seven games with the Raiders this season. Jacksonville acquiring Meyers at the trade deadline could mean the team is anticipating a worst-case scenario for Brian Thomas, who suffered a serious ankle injury in Week 9 against the Raiders. The team is already without Travis Hunter, who last week was placed on IR with a knee injury. Meyers’ fantasy prospects likely get a boost in Jacksonville if Thomas is sidelined for a while. Meanwhile, Tre Tucker becomes the de facto WR1 in Vegas, though Bowers should continue dominating targets as he did in Week 9. The Raiders could see what they have in Jack Bech as well.