After an injury-marred 2024, Trevor Lawrence entered a make-or-break year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Throughout the offseason, there was chatter about his future with the team, but he's effectively put to rest the doubts and has been a huge reason the Jags went 13-3 and won the AFC South.
Now, the Jaguars are getting ready to face the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, and Dan Orlovsky of ESPN argues that Trevor Lawrence makes them a team to keep an eye on.
The Jaguars are no longer coddling Trevor Lawrence
Following the win over the Titans, Dan Orlovsky noted that the Jaguars are no longer holding Trevor Lawrence back, noting that he's currently playing with plenty of confidence.
It feels like they've just stopped babying him. Yeah, and I think when Trevor goes on the field now, he's like, I'm the best player on the field," Orlovsky said. "He's demanding everything while asking nothing. And now you're watching a player not worry about interceptions or bad plays."
Later in the clip, Orlovsky argues that Lawrence lacked that confidence in past seasons, but now that he does, that makes him the best passer in the NFL right now.
"Trevor Lawrence, he just wasn't confident enough to make throws like this at this time previously in his career, that's the case this year, he thinks he's the best thrower of the football right now, every time he steps on the field, he's going to be against Josh Allen and buffalo this weekend, but there's no longer the coddling of Trevor Lawrence, and you're watching him embrace that," Orlovsky said.
It's worth noting that Lawrence wasn't playing nearly as well early in the season. However, he began to show improvement once Liam Coen told him to cut it loose. The fact that the Jaguars got him a sure-handed target in Jakobi Meyers also helped him play with more confidence.
For the season, Lawrence ended up completing 60.8 percent of his throws for 4,007 yards with 29 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. On top of that, he ran for nine touchdowns, giving him a total of 38.
Trevor Lawrence gives the Jaguars an edge in the playoffs
It's true that football is a team sport, but quarterbacks have the biggest impact on the outcome of a football game. And with Trevor Lawrence playing the best football of his career, the Jaguars are entering the playoffs in great shape.
Of course, the Bills also have a top-5 quarterback in Josh Allen, so beating them won't be a walk in the park. That said, Jacksonville should feel good about its chances ahead of the game. After all, Lawrence isn't the only reason they've gotten this far.
The Jags also have a balanced running game and one of the top defenses in the league. Heck, you could make the case that their biggest weakness is Coen's lack of experience as a head coach, but he's more than proved that he's up for the task in his first season at the helm.
When you add it all up, analysts are beginning to take the Jaguars seriously, and rightly so. With the tandem of Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence in place, nobody will bat an eye if they can make a deep playoff run.