Explaining Trevor Lawrence's Wacky Goal Line Kneel vs. Patriots

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In between the Jacksonville Jaguars' dominating romp of the New England Patriots on Sunday came one of the oddest plays a Jaguar has made in some time.

It came right before the Jaguars scored the final touchdown in their 35-6 blowout of the Patriots. With the Jaguars facing a 3rd-and-3 in the red-zone with just around eight minutes left, franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence took a sweep to the left, broke some tackles, and looked due for his fourth touchdown of the game ... until he simply stopped and took a knee at the one-yard line instead.

Trevor Lawrence gets through put takes a knee before the end zone.#NFL pic.twitter.com/2zO2Iby4Qz
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 27, 2026

So ... what the hack happened? Why did Lawrence not simply break the goal line to give him his second four-touchdown game of the day?

Trevor Lawrence's Explanation

Lawrence joked with the CBS Sports sideline reporter after the game that he was trying to get Bhayshul Tuten a touchdown, which did happen on the next play to give Tuten his second touchdown in two weeks. But when speaking with the local media after the game, Lawrence made it clear that his gaffe was just that -- a gaffe.

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) runs towards the end zone in the fourth quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"Yeah, the whole drive was kind of -- trying to put together a good drive but it was four-minute thought so we got down there and so when I broke free and no one tackled me, it's something we talk about all the time potentially in those situations, going down, keeping the clock running, that was too much time. I looked at the clock after and I was like ugh, there's still eight minutes left," Lawrence said after the game.

"Probably unnecessary there, but just trying to eat as much clock is possible, they use the time-out after that. Trying to give them as few chances as possible to get back in the game. If you do the analytics, people will probably be all over it online, I'm sure. Probably wasn't the best decision, but we scored the next play. Give Bhayshul a touchdown. That's cool. Let him get in the end zone."

In short, it was a hiccup from Lawrence and nothing more. It ended up working out for the Jaguars since they already had the game easily in hand after entering halftime with all of the momentum. It is not something that would have happened in a closer game by any means, but Lawrence has been known to make a wacky play here and there, such as his Week 1 left-handed pass across the line of scrimmage.

It worked out for the Jaguars, with Tuten scoring a touchdown to give the Jaguars their second 30+ point effort of the season. But for as odd and quirky as the play looked, there wasn't much explanation to be had other than the fact that Lawrence had what amounted to ultimately a harmless brain fart.

With that said, the play did make the Patriots burn a timeout so ... success? It was an odd one, but it was just one play in a game filled with top-notch execution otherwise from the Jaguars' offense. Lawrence has thrown seven touchdowns in three games, and more production like that could afford him a few more brainfarts along the way.

Add us as a preferred source on Google