The Jacksonville Jaguars made a statement when they steamrolled the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. Coming off a humiliating loss to the Houston Texans, they played their most complete game of the Liam Coen era: The running game was clicking, and the pass rush continuously rattled Justin Herbert. Couple that with the fact that the Jags kept penalties to a minimum, and it's easy to see why they came out on top.
But as dominant as the Jaguars looked, it has yet to reach the ceiling. An NFL analyst witnessed them dismantle Los Angeles and believes they will be hard to beat once Trevor Lawrence hits his stride.
As good as they are, the Jaguars can be much better
Sam Monson of Check the Mic says that once Trevor Lawrence plays the way he's shown he's capable of, Jacksonville will be hard to stop. Here's the skinny.
"Winning a game this definitively without Trevor Lawrence playing lights out football," Monson said when discussing the win over the Chargers. "Like this is the interesting thing about Jacksonville this season, is even when they're good, even when they're winning games, even when they're dominant, almost always it's come without Trevor Lawrence being the thing that's driving this team forward. And theoretically, there's still that room for growth, for being even better."
Monson continued, "Like everyone expected, Trevor Lawrence to take this big step forward with Liam as the head coach. Actually, it seems like he's the last thing to take the step forward. Everything else is better; the run games better, everything's better except Trevor Lawrence. We know he's capable of better play than this, like we've seen it. So there is still this world where Trevor Lawrence actually does start to play much better within this Liam Cohen offense, and then the Jags become a serious threat to anybody in the AFC."
Lawrence completed 63.6 percent of his throws for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Chargers. He added nine yards and a touchdown on five carries. Overall, No. 16 played a good game, but he wasn't asked to do much because Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten carried the team. Similarly, Jacksonville played with a lead because the defense contained Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles offense.
Related: 3 head-turning stats that defined the Jags win over the Chargers
The Jaguars need Trevor Lawrence to make a huge step to fiinish the season
This isn't shouldn't take anything away from Trevor Lawrence, but the truth is that he hasn't had that defining performance this season where he's shown he puts the team on his shoulders and elevates everyone around him. That said, the former Clemson Tiger is making strides in the right direction, and nobody will bat an eye if he catches fire in the second half like he did in 2022.
This is feasible when you take into account that Lawrence had to rebuild his mechanics and had to learn his third offensive system under Liam Coen. As the season progresses, he should (and appears to be) getting more acclimated to the offense. It's also worth noting that the fifth-year quarterback started wearing a wristband in the win over the Chargers, and the difference was noticeable.
When you add it all up, it's reasonable to expect Lawrence to keep improving and finishing the season strong. If that's what happens, the Jaguars will be hard to stop.