‘No one flinched’: Why Lawrence, Jaguars knew they could pull off epic comeback, stun Chargers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Marvin Jones was laughing.

Every time the Jaguars returned to the huddle on their game-winning drive, the wide receiver just couldn’t help himself.

He knew what was coming. They all knew.

The Jaguars beat the Chargers at the buzzer, 31-30, Saturday night at TIAA Bank Field. The finish felt inevitable — even to the Chargers — despite the outcome looking so improbable for so long.

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Trevor Lawrence leads historic comeback over Chargers

The Jaguars trailed 27-0 in the second quarter, but they kept after it. They have a unique belief in themselves, and it’s rooted in their confidence in quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

THE @JAGUARS WIN. SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE.#SuperWildCard #LACvsJAX
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

“We were actually excited,” Jones said of the game-winning drive that ended with Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal. “I was laughing. We’re comfortable. The other team felt it, too. They told us that you just feel it. You feel a switch. When somebody has that type of energy, and you can’t stop it, it’s a wonderful thing.”

The Jaguars executed the third-biggest comeback in playoff history. They became the 27th team to be minus-five in the turnover margin in postseason history — and the first to win.

Early on Saturday night, few could have imagined what was to come.

Lawrence was 5-of-18 for 35 yards, with four interceptions and a 0.0 passer rating through seven possessions while the Chargers raced out to a 27-0 advantage.

“Definitely the worst half of my football life,” Lawrence said.

And while Lawrence stayed steady and the Jaguars as a whole remained the same, everything else changed with a two-minute drill before the half. From that point, Lawrence went 23-of-29 for 253 yards, four touchdowns and a 142.6 passer rating, and the Jaguars scored on their final five possessions to thrill a raucous Jacksonville crowd.

What a comeback. What a game. #LACvsJAX
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

“I threw four picks in the first half, and those guys beside me on offense and on the other side of the ball never lost faith in me,” Lawrence said. “That’s one thing that makes it easier when you know you’ve got guys believing in you no matter what the circumstances are.”

They’re well-versed in the art of the comeback. On a macro level, they were 2-6 and 3.5 games behind the Titans in the AFC South before winning seven of their final nine regular-season games to take the division title for the first time in five years.

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On a finer scale, they erased 17-point deficits against the Raiders and Cowboys, a 9-point fourth-quarter hole against the Ravens and a 10-point margin last week against the Titans to secure the AFC South title and their playoff berth.

“It epitomizes our season. We’re never out of it,” Lawrence said. “When you believe and everybody believes, it’s cool what you can accomplish. Tonight was one of those games.”

They learned how to win by enduring so many losses under similar circumstances. Prior to the turnaround, the Jaguars lost five consecutive games and had a chance to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter of all of them, falling short each time.

Lawrence laid out the difference in mentality recently to The Athletic.

“Guys really started believing, no matter what situation it was,” Lawrence said at the time. “Based on what we’ve done the past month, no one flinched. We all knew we just had to make one play and we’re right back in it. We made one play. … Things happen really fast. It’s all about belief and confidence. That’s what we’ve got right now. That’s the key ingredient to being a great team.”

It happened again.

Their belief in Lawrence is so real.

“It’s a testament to what he does every day,” Jones said. “He’s always here (at the facility). He’ll play ping-pong then go back to watch film. He’s always in the building. It’s easy to follow somebody like that who is so invested into this team and into winning. And how calm he is at every moment. The dude is calm in every single moment, no matter if it’s a big moment, a successful moment or a failure. If you have somebody who is the same every time, you believe in him and he’s easy to follow.”

Earlier this season, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson showed the team a video from Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL who has become a motivational author and podcaster. The moral of the video: When things are going poorly, simply respond by saying, “Good.”

That was beneficial Saturday night.

After Lawrence’s third or fourth interception — he couldn’t remember which one — he returned to the sideline and an offensive lineman looked at him and said, “Good.”

“I’m like, ‘Not the time,’” Lawrence said with a laugh. “(But) it’s the mindset of this group.”

There were a couple more reasons to think a comeback was plausible. Even though Lawrence made some poor throws in the first half, he was confident in how he had been reading the defense. That became paramount later, as teammates said Lawrence checked “a handful” of calls at the line that turned into big plays, including the 39-yard touchdown to Zay Jones.

LAWRENCE TO ZAY JONES. 39-YARD TD. #SuperWildCard
📺: #LACvsJAX on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

Lawrence recognized the safeties’ responsibilities before the snap, called a play to manipulate their coverage and sprung Jones for the score that made it 30-20 in the third quarter.

And the defense was playing well enough to complement the offense, so long as the turnovers were eradicated. The Chargers had three scoring drives — two touchdowns and a field goal — with less than 20 yards of offense because of the short fields.

“We know what type of player Trevor is,” Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen said. “He showed us in training camp what type of quarterback he was going to be. So the confidence that we have in him has already been set. We already know what he is capable of, so let’s do our part as a defense and get the ball back to a guy who can take the top off any defense.”

As the offense rolled down the field for the winning score, Allen and the defense were on the sideline preparing for one last stop. They figured the Chargers could get the ball back with a chance to run a few plays or a Hail Mary situation.

But they knew if their services were again required on the field, it’d be to protect a lead.

“It was our momentum,” Allen said. “We were ready to get back in there. We knew the offense was going to score.”

Lawrence was in total control on the field and in the huddle, where he reminded his teammates to focus on certain nuances of the play calls or to protect the ball or how to handle specific situations in the final moments. OF course, they followed. Lawrence has long since earned their trust.

“Once he finds his rhythm, I wouldn’t rather have anybody else,” Marvin Jones said. “I’ve never seen a quarterback come back from throwing four picks, but he’s different.”

Wide receiver Christian Kirk added, “When he’s at his best, he’s going to take us as far as we want to go. When adversity strikes, it shows what type of guys we have. Trevor never blinks.”

Lawrence to Kirk! Here come the Jags! #SuperWildCard
📺: #LACvsJAX on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and the best quarterback prospect in a decade, has the pedigree. He was a national champion at Clemson, so he has the credentials.

But he is still growing in the NFL, and it’s happening fast. Teams don’t win eight out of 10 games at this time of year without high-caliber quarterback play.

He’s a bona fide franchise quarterback, and he’s on a track to become one of the best in the NFL. Lawrence authored a signature moment Saturday night, leading the Jaguars to their eighth playoff win in franchise history — and just their fourth since the 2000 season.

“I love the fact that he’s leading our football team,” Pederson said. “It’s a set in the direction that we want this organization to go, that we want him to go, that we want the team to go. We’ve just got to continue to build on that.”

At 12:30 a.m., nearly an hour after Lawrence had every answer for the Chargers and a 27-point deficit and a four-pick, first-half meltdown, the quarterback lost the words to describe it all.

He detailed the comeback, the confidence and the experiences that led to this. There were tangents and laughs and sighs and self-deprecating humor.

“I don’t really know what else to say,” Lawrence finally admitted. “I’m kind of rambling. It’s just a special night.”

That about sums it up.

(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)