3 major observations from Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's Week 12 performance vs. Texans

The Jacksonville Jaguars started a winning streak when they beat the Houston Texans 24-21 in Week 12. After losing to the San Francisco 49ers a couple weeks ago, they've now won two in a row. One big reason for the Jags' recent success is Trevor Lawrence, who's had a couple of outstanding performances.

Against the Texans, Lawrence went 23-of-38 yards for 364 yards with one passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and an interception. Had his receivers been able to come down with a couple of deep passes, he would've crossed the 400-yard mark. Either way, the third-year quarterback did more than enough to help the Jags win a crucial game.

With that in mind, here are three things that stood out in Trevor Lawrence's outing in Jacksonville's rematch game against Houston.

Trevor Lawrence shrugged off the interception vs. the Texans

Lawrence generally made good decisions against Houston. His lone pick was the result of Texans safety Jalen Pitre pulling tight end Evan Engram, and not getting flagged for pass interference. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. took advantage of the opportunity to pick off the pass Lawrence intended for Engram.

Instead of questioning the officiating, Lawrence praised the Texans for making a play. noting that plays won't always get called. He also credited the Jaguars for recovering after the turnover.

"I think there was definitely some contact there but you've got to play the game," Lawrence told the media after the game. "There's things that happened. Stingley made a great play. He was actually covering other guys, he was covering Calvin, and we got what we wanted."

"Number five [Jalen Pitre], maybe grabbed a little cloth there, and held him up and they got the pick. They made a great play. And we got to bounce back from this thing, so we were able to fortunately, because that could've been a big momentum swing, and we were able to find a way to win the game," Lawrence said.

The past two weeks, Lawrence has only thrown a combined two interceptions. The first eight games of the season, he had six picks and seven lost fumbles. It's a small sample but he's doing a better job of holding onto the ball.

2. The Jaguars' offensive line once again showed out, gave Trevor Lawrence good protection

One of the big reasons Jacksonville's offense stalled at times early in the season was their porous offensive line. Without good protection, Trevor Lawrence was rushed into getting rid of the ball faster than he would've wanted. Similarly, he couldn't take many deep shots knowing the routes weren't going to have enough time to develop. Following the loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jaguars ranked near the cellar in both pass and run block win rate.

Lawrence was getting pressured at a 43 percent rate on dropbacks that took 2.5 to 4.0 seconds, the highest figure in the league. However, the offensive line has given him more time to throw the past two weeks. In Week 12, they didn't allow a single sack and Lawrence made the most of his extra time to take several deep shots.

During his exchange with the media, Lawrence credited his protection upfront, "did a great job protection was awesome. I don't think I got sacked, right? No sacks today."

"Those guys are playing their tails off, obviously, we had Ezra [Cleveland] jump in there, had to play the rest of the game, and he did a great job. he's gonna help us, and it's cool to see him be able to get up to speed that fast. He just got here, so they did a heck of a job."

Lawrence went on to say he wishes Cam Robinson a speedy recovery. Robinson left the game with a knee injury and didn't return. Walker Little filled in for him at left tackle, and Ezra Cleveland stepped in at left guard. Even without Robinson, the line didn't seem to miss a beat.

1. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence had a career game vs. the Texans in Week 12

The Jaguars offense missed a handful of opportunities that might've given them a few extra points. The pass that wide receiver Calvin Ridley dropped in the end zone could've been a touchdown. Also, Jacksonville went for it on fourth down on the Texans' one-yard line but couldn't reach the goal line. That's another touchdown, or at least three points, if the Jags had taken a conservative approach, and gone for the field goal.

But despite letting a few opportunities slip through their hands, the Jaguars offense operated mostly well in Week 12. Trevor Lawrence acknowledged that they still have room for improvement but was pleased to see the offense be more explosive against the Texans.

"We're getting better, we're being more explosive. We're moving the ball at will, we're doing a lot of great things. But we got to play cleaner, too many mistakes, too many dumb penalties too many, missed opportunities still even with all the things that we did well," Lawrence said after the game.

In the end, the Jaguars got the win, the most important stat. On the other hand, Trevor Lawrence also had a few individual accomplishments. For starters, he threw for 364 passing yards, the second-best mark in his career. This was his second 300-yard game of the season, and the eighth time he's pulled off the feat in his career.

Furthermore, he became the first player since 2020 to have four completions of 40+ yards in a game, and the most by any Jaguars quarterback since 2020, per Ed Werder of ESPN.

Just last week, Lawrence became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to get 10,000 passing yards. With six games left in the season, he should be able to accomplish a few more individual feats.

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