The Jacksonville Jaguars faced a true test of their ability on Monday Night Football against Patrick Mahomes and the mighty Kansas City Chiefs, as the rest of the NFL would find out if the team's mighty defense, volatile quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and head coach Liam Coen are for real.
Lawrence was without question under the most pressure out of any of those three forces. Despite going down 14-0 early and turning it over twice, it was Lawrence who stepped up when Jacksonville needed him as the Jaguars pulled out a miraculous 31-28 victory over the reigning AFC Champions.
The game-winning play was classic Lawrence, warts and all. After the rambunctious, chaotic quarterback tripped over right guard Patrick Mekari's foot with 30 seconds left, no timeouts, and the ball at the one-yard line, Lawrence picked himself up and darted to the end zone for the deciding score.
Perhaps no play summed up Lawrence's play under Coen quite like that one.
It isn't always pretty, it certainly is chaotic, and it might make fans who want him to be more stable tear their hair out, but he has proven to be capable of getting the job done. The Jaguars are now 4-1 on the year (and were a fourth-quarter meltdown against Cincinnati away from 5-0), and Lawrence has played a big part in this game.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence takes down Chiefs with crazy touchdown run
As is the case with Lawrence, he was up-and-down. Lawrence finished the game 18-25 for 221 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception, while running for 54 yards and two more scores. Lawrence's interception was widely seen to not be completely his fault due to a missed pass interference, and his fumble at the one-yard line would have been a turnover on downs anyway.
When trailing in this game, Lawrence turned on the jets. He accounted for 251 yards and all of his touchdowns, all while flexing an adjusted completion percentage of close to 90 percent. Fans will put up with some of the lowlights if wins keep coming.
Lawrence will occasionally make a throw that boggles the mind, forget the situation when he rolls out of the pocket, and vary wildly from drive to drive. However, he will also drop some dimes, like a pitch-perfect throw to Brian Thomas Jr. on the game-winning drive, and pull of some jaw-dropping plays when the Jaguars needed a win.
Lawrence's roller-coaster style may put a ceiling on Jacksonville's chances of contention, but as it pertains to getting them back to respectability, his highs remain so enticing that Coen and this fanbase will likely have no problem continuing to sign up for this wild ride every week.