Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars upset Chargers in dominant fashion

By Ben Arthur
FOX Sports AFC South Writer

Are the Jacksonville Jaguars good? 

That’s a conversation we might need to have after another dominant performance.

The Jaguars (2-1) walloped a limited Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) en route to a 38-10 victory Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. It marked Jacksonville’s second straight victory, the first time it has posted back-to-back wins since September of 2019. 

“These guys are playing with confidence,” coach Doug Pederson said. “Winning can do that.” 

Here are a few takeaways from the Jaguars’ performance in Week 3:

Fourth-down conversion started the offensive explosion 

The Jaguars held just a 16-7 lead at halftime. They were 1-of-4 in the red zone to start the game. Meat was left on the bone early.

That started to change in the third quarter. With Jacksonville facing a fourth-and-1 at the 50, third-year running back James Robinson ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run. It kicked off a 22-point unanswered run for the Jaguars. 

“Oh, it was great,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said of Robinson’s run. “Especially at that point in the game, when you’ve kind of controlled the clock. You have the lead. … Being able to pound the ball. I think that was fourth down. That was just a huge play.” 

Another strong performance from Trevor Lawrence 

After his best game as a pro in last week’s shutout of the Indianapolis Colts, Lawrence continued his efficient play. The second-year quarterback completed 72% of his passes (28 of 39) for 262 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and a 115.5 passer rating, the second-highest of his career. 

The former No. 1 overall pick diced up the Chargers’ defense in the quick passing game. He averaged a career-low 2.39 seconds to throw, and in all passes thrown in less than 2.5 seconds, he was 19 of 23 for 162 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats. 

Lawrence spread the wealth. Five Jaguars pass-catchers had at least three receptions and three had a touchdown. 

Pederson was quick to point out the pass-protection shone during Lawrence’s big day. 

“I think our offensive line really took control of this football game,” Pederson said. 

Jumping all over hurting Herbert, Chargers’ offense 

Chargers star quarterback Justin Herbert played with fractured rib cartilage, but the Jaguars still had to take advantage of the weakened opposing offense. 

That they did. 

Jacksonville created back-to-back turnovers in the second quarter. First, rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd picked off Herbert when running back Sony Michel bobbled a pass deep in Chargers territory. Then defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot strip sacked Herbert. The turnovers led to 10 points. 

While the Chargers had 312 yards of offense, the Jaguars held them to just one touchdown, 1-of-3 in the red zone and 5-of-13 on third down.

Milestones

Here are a few things the Jaguars accomplished Sunday:

It was their largest win by point differential since Week 15 of 2017, when they thrashed the Houston Texans by 38.

They secured back-to-back 20-plus-point wins for the first time since 2000, according to ESPN.

Lawrence secured his first road win 10 starts on the road.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.