Monday night was the kind of game the Chiefs usually find a way to win, and the Jaguars usually find a way to lose.
Last night, in one stunning play that started with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence falling down — twice — and finished with a game-winning touchdown run, the narrative flipped.
Lawrence and the Jaguars found a way to win a game they felt destined to squander. And Lawrence, who said after the game that he shifted into panic mode, has shifted the way he will be regarded, internally and externally.
Most quarterbacks find their ceiling fairly early in their careers. They become who they are going to be and, with minor variations, that’s where they stay.
But some quarterbacks find a way to become more than they have been. Lawrence, who showed the potential in 2022 to become a top-five quarterback, had settled into the murky waters between 10 and 20.
Now, who knows? On his 26th birthday, a new Trevor Lawrence emerged. The question is whether he can build on the fresh vibe that emerged in the ultimate make-or-break moment. If his trip and fall (and fall) had contributed to a loss, the end result would have been just another game in which Lawrence made a key mistake that kept the Jaguars from winning. His ability to turn a pratfall into the team’s first victory over the Chiefs since 2009 possibly marks a new beginning for Lawrence, and for the Jaguars.
Where it goes from here is up to Lawrence. The next opportunity arrives on Sunday, when the Seahawks visit Jacksonville and Lawrence has a chance to push his team’s record to 5-1. After that, it’s the Rams in London.