Jaguars 28, Ravens 27: Trevor Lawrence Has His Franchise Quarterback Game

Trevor Lawrence looked exactly like the quarterback he has always been proclaimed to be in Week 12's win over the Ravens.

The feeling in the air in the Jacksonville Jaguars' locker room was as expected after a thrilling 28-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

There was a lot of joy. A lot of energy. But, most importantly for the future of the Jaguars, there was a feeling of confidence in a game won by the right arm of the quarterback.

When Trevor Lawrence walked through the locker room, he did it with 52+ other eyes on him, looking to him as their guy. Their quarterback. Their franchise passer, who arrived in a big way with a career game against the Ravens, leading a game-winning drive with 2:00 remaining, throwing dart after dart on big down after big down.

"I feel like Trevor needed that, and it was great to see that we needed him most he put his big boy pants on and made the plays," Jaguars running back Travis Etienne said with a smile after the game.

It wasn't the first time Etienne has seen Lawrence dazzle in big moments. But it was one of the first times Lawrence has done it in the NFL since the Jaguars made him the No. 1 pick in 2021. 

Lawrence finished the game 29-of-37 (78.4%) for 321 yards and three touchdowns and a passer rating of 129.8, throwing a game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones with 18 seconds remaining before completing the two-point conversion to Zay Jones.

"I think sometimes there's a difference between what we see in Trevor and what you all might see or a fan might see," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. "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. 

"Listen, he played a really good game today, but his guys played a great game. His O-line played a great game. His tight ends blocked, the backs, the receivers. Everybody on offense played a great game to help us win this one. Defense came up with some big critical turnovers and some stops like we talked about. So it's a step in the right direction for Trevor. Excited for his growth obviously, and this is a big one for all of us."

Excited for Lawrence's growth likely doesn't begin to describe how the Jaguars are feeling. Over the last three games, the Jaguars are 2-1 largely because Lawrence has turned a corner at 100 mph. In that span, Lawrence has completed 76.8% of his passes for 815 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions.

"It feels good. I'm really, really proud of this group. I'm proud of myself. We've been through a lot here in the past two years, and just battled through the adversity." Lawrence said after the game. 

"It's a good feeling. But I've said it before, I'm the same guy. I've always been this guy. I haven't always played my best every week, and that's going to happen sometimes, but I really love the direction that this offense, this team is heading, and we feel really good about who we are, but I'm the same guy."

Lawrence is seemingly heading in the right direction, guided by Pederson and a Jaguars offense that has made big plays for him in recent weeks. Now, it will be up to Lawrence to continue to stack performances like the elite one he had on Sunday. 

It's a step in the right direction, you know. I would say these last three games or so, he's really done a really nice job with our system and our offense," Pederson said. 

"Even a game like today, again, it wasn't a perfect game, but statistically speaking, I think he had a pretty good game and took care of the football. He's heading in the right direction. Look, it's just one step in where we want to go. Great team win today, and we can build on it and look forward to next week."

Photo: Via Alex Shepherd