So far, so mostly good for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence during 2-1 start

If the worst thing you can say about Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is he showed a stunning lack of clock awareness by taking a knee at the New England Patriots’ 1-yard line while holding a 22-point lead with nearly nine minutes remaining, then you know he was otherwise locked in.

“Probably wasn’t the best decision,” he would say after the 35-6 win on Sept. 28.

Save for his two interceptions, Lawrence has been on point with his decision making during the Jaguars’ 2-1 start.

What you’re seeing is a player who trusts his eyes, footwork, mechanics, coaching, offensive line and pass catchers.

Exhibit A: Leading 7-3 on second-and-goal, Lawrence looked right toward receiver Parker Washington and tight end Brenton Strange before he shifted

back to the middle of the field. When he threw the football, receiver Jakobi Meyers was barely in the All-22 video screen shot, but he caught the 10-yard touchdown.

Manipulating the defense. Trusting Meyers to get open. Anticipating where he would be.

“That was great,” Meyers said. “Great play call and throw by Trev. I just had to do my part and win my 1-on-1.”

There is a lot of great going on with the Jaguars’ passing game in general and Lawrence in particular.

What to make of his first three games, particularly after his dazzling finish to the 2025 regular season (8-0 record, 19 touchdowns, five interceptions) earned him a trip down the red carpet at the NFL Honors for being an MVP finalist?

More than serviceable. Sometimes spectacular. And only a couple of throws he should want back.

Lawrence has threaded the needle of being efficient and aggressive. When the throw is there, he has let it rip. When the downfield option isn’t there, he is taking the short profit.

Through the games of Sept. 27, Lawrence ranked 19th in yards (616), 23rd in attempts (81), 21st in completions (54), tied for third in touchdowns (seven), sixth in passer rating (107.8), 10th in yards per attempt (7.6) and 14th in completion rate (66.7).

Trevor Lawrence improved in multiple areas

The yardage, attempts and completion totals are down because Lawrence didn’t finish the wins over Cleveland and New England. The two upticks worth noting are passer rating (up from 91.0 last year) and completion rate (up from 60.9% last year).

By game, Lawrence is 18 of 23, 17 of 29 and 19 of 29. Among his 27 incompletions are six throwaways, four drops and one clock-stopping spike. Remove those and his completion rate is 77.1%. That, folks, is what you call useful quarterback play.

From a team perspective, the Jaguars are sixth on third down (18 of 34, 52.9%).

On the Jaguars’ initial second-half drive, they drove 72 yards on 15 plays and used 8:42 of the clock. They were 4 of 4 on third down.

“That was such a cool drive,” rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher said. “I’ve only been a part of a few of those.”

Lawrence converted a third-and-1 (two-yard sneak), third-and-9 (14 yards to Meyers), third-and-11 (13 yards to Meyers) and third-and-17 (17-yard touchdown to Washington).

“We tightened the game plan on third down (and) just had a little bit less inventory,” Coen said.

The 14-yard pass to Meyers was the kind of play the Jaguars’ coaches refer to as an “Iron Jaw Play” by Lawrence. The Patriots rushed six against a six-man protection, but linebacker Christian Elliss was unaccounted for and had a free run at Lawrence. After the play, Lawrence got off the turf and gave a fist pump.

“Incredible,” Coen said after watching the video Sept. 28. “I don’t know how he even got (the throw) out.”

The touchdown to Washington was a rabbit-out-of-Parker’s-hat play. He caught that? He did what?

“I thought there was no chance when I saw the ball in the air,” Boerkircher said. “But then Parker snagged it.”

Said Meyers: “That was crazy, but that’s Parker at this point. No surprise at all.”

Patience required against Patriots

Dividing Lawrence’s passing chart into 15 categories by direction (right, middle, left) and yardage (behind the line of scrimmage and 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 and 16 or more “air” yards) can help paint a picture of his effectiveness.

Entering the season, Lawrence and Coen wanted to see more completions downfield right and left.

On attempts outside of at least 16 “air” yards,” as charted by the Times-Union, Lawrence is 3 of 8 for 71 yards, two touchdowns and interception to the left, but only 1 of 2 for 30 yards (touchdown) to the right.

Lawrence’s money territory remains the middle of the field. On attempts of at least 16 “air” yards, he is 6 of 6 for 131 yards and on attempts of at least 11-15 “air” yards, he is 5 of 6 for 79 yards.

Against the Patriots, Lawrence didn’t have a pass attempt of longer than 16  “air” yards.

“They played hardly any man coverage (after) they played a decent amount (in Weeks 1-2),” Coen said. “Trevor did a nice job taking the (short) profits.”

Over the next three weeks, the Jaguars face Cincinnati (28th in pass defense), Philadelphia (second) and Houston (25th). Showing equal parts patience and aggressiveness depending on the coverage look will allow Lawrence to help keep the Jaguars atop the AFC South.

Contact O’Halloran at [e-mail] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: So far, so mostly good for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence during 2-1 start