Although the Jacksonville Jaguars started 4-1, they dealt with a midseason funk that made you wonder whether they could steer the ship in the right direction. They hit rockbottom when they suffered a meltdown against the Houston Texans in Week 10, but the loss to their dreaded division foes appears to be the wake-up call they needed to turn things around.
Since then, the Jags have won six in a row, with their latest victory coming against the Denver Broncos. With every week that passes, it's becoming increasingly harder to ignore this Jacksonville team that is 11-4 with two weeks left in the season. Just recently, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports talked about the reason behind their turnaround.
Pete Prisco argues Trevor Lawrence has led the Jaguars to a turnaround
Following the 34-20 win over the Jaguars, Pete Prisco was part of a roundtable. He brought up Trevor Lawrence as the reason behind the Jaguars' recent surge, noting that he's played much better since head coach Liam Coen told him to let it rip.
"Well, Trevor Lawrence has changed. A lot of people's thinking on him in the last five weeks, he's got 20 touchdowns, counting two running touchdowns and three turnovers in that span," Prisco said. "Early in the season, there were questions about him. We sat here. We all did, and we all questioned, was he the franchise quarterback? Was he worth the money? He wasn't playing well. He wasn't taking the shots down the field. He was taking check downs. His eye level came down."
Prisco continued, "His mechanics were bad. They had dropped passes. And all of a sudden, at one point, Liam Cohn brought him into his office, and he told him, 'Turn it loose. Just turn it loose.' And since then, they've turned it loose, but a lot of those games were against bad defenses. You go on the road against Denver and put up the numbers he did today, and that sends a message to everybody: 'Look, I am for real.' This offense is for real, and we're going to be dangerous come playoff time."
Since Jacksonville's BYE, No. 16 has completed 60.5 percent of his throws for 1,649 yards with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He's also reached the end zone three times on the ground, for a total of 20 touchdowns.
Moreover, Lawrence's 33 touchdowns this season are a career best and the second-most in franchise history. Simply, he's playing like the quarterback the Jags envisioned when they drafted him first overall in 2021.
Related: Michael Strahan just confirmed what Jaguars fans have known about Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence isn't the only reason the Jaguars are surging
Circling back to Pete Prisco's comments, Liam Coen has played a huge role in Trevor Lawrence's improvement. Aside from telling him to let it rip, suggesting he wear a wristband at the midpoint of the season has also helped him. Similarly, the arrival of Jakobi Meyers via trade has been huge.
There's no denying that Lawrence is a big reason the Jags are 11-4. That said, this has been a team effort, and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile also deserves credit for getting the most out of his players and having his unit ready week in and week out.
When you add it all up, it's easy to see why the Jaguars were able to bring down the Broncos. They are a well-rounded bunch that can take on the best teams in the league with Trevor Lawrence leading the way.