The Denver Broncos may have fired the Jacksonville Jaguars up with comments made by head coach Sean Payton, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence made sure that they were focused on something a little more tangible.
For one thing, Payton’s comments were meant to be complimentary.
More importantly, though, Lawrence knew that he and the Jaguars offense would not be facing Payton’s comments on the field.
Trevor Lawrence Put Jaguars on Notice About Broncos
GettyTrevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates with fans after defeating the Denver Broncos.
Before the game’s opening play, or even the kickoff, Lawrence made sure that his Jaguars teammates were well aware of what they were up against in the Broncos.
“All I heard is how good this defense is,” Lawrence told his teammates in the tunnel before heading onto the field for the game. “Show them we don’t give a s***. Whoever’s gonna line up across from us must get that a** beat.”
Lawrence threw for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns on 63.9% completion.
The yards are his third most of the season, while the touchdowns tied his second-highest mark of the campaign. The Broncos sacked Lawrence 5 times, but not to much effect.
“Only one was for appreciable yardage,” The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson posted on X on December 22. “That was an 11-yard loss thanks to Malcolm Roach. The other four sacks were for minus-1, minus-2, zero and zero yards.”
The Jaguars’ 265 net passing yards were the fifth-most the Broncos have allowed this season.
Denver is now 2-3 when they allow at least that much production through the air, which could prove ominous with the playoffs starting in just a few weeks.
Lawrence was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft, so his ability to perform well against top-flight opponents is not wholly surprising. The Jaguars have struggled during his tenure, but he has seemingly found his match in Liam Coen, as the Broncos have with Payton and Bo Nix.
Notably, fans reposted the video on Monday, noting what Lawrence said.
Trevor Lawrence Praises Denver’s Defense
GettyTrevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates on the bench against the Arizona Cardinals.
After the game, Lawrence lofted praise on the Broncos’ defense in comments that further underscored the sense of urgency in his pre-tilt messaging. That was despite his team’s success.
“Wouldn’t say easy when you’re playing a really good team, and this is a really good team. Really good defense, especially. And so, we knew we were going to have our hands full coming in. We had to play well, and we did down the stretch. We made some plays. It wasn’t always pretty,” Lawrence told reporters postgame, noting the Jaguars had items to “clean up” in victory.
“That’s a team that does some really challenging things on defense. Great pass rush, some pressure looks that you got to kind of sort through, and we managed it well.”
Notably, the Jaguars did not turn the ball over in the game.
The Broncos have failed to create a takeaway seven times this season. They are 5-2 in those games. The Jaguars’ 346 yards of total offense were the second most the Texans have allowed in those games, and they lost the only one in which they allowed more.
Denver would do well to keep this matchup in mind, just in case they face Lawrence–who also rushed for 20 yards and 1 TD–and the Jaguars in the playoffs.
The Broncos must also be mindful of slipping behind Lawrence’s crew in the AFC standings.
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