Maybe it wasn’t as pretty as former Clemson football quarterback Trevor Lawrence imagined, but nonetheless, the Jacksonville Jaguars completed a remarkable turnaround from last season’s 3-14 record to finish the regular season 9-8, win the AFC South and head to the NFL Playoffs.
Lawrence finished 20 of 32 for 212 yards and a touchdown, while struggling at times, missing open receivers on more than one occasion.
Another thing Lawrence didn’t do was to not make a crucial mistake that cost the Jags their chance at a playoff spot.
Former Clemson teammate Travis Etienne was quiet for the entire evening against a tough Titans defense, rushing for only 17 yards on 7 carries and hauling in 2 receptions for another 17 yards.
The Jacksonville defense came through when Lawrence and the offense struggled. With less than three minutes to go, Joshua Dobbs dropped back to pass on third and six from the Tennessee 35 when he was sacked and fumbled at the Titans 27, which was scooped up by Josh Allen and taken to the house for the first Jags lead of the night.
Tennessee reached the Jacksonville 43 on the ensuing drive, but Dobbs’ inexperience showed up as he threw short of the sticks on fourth down and the ball went to Jacksonville and victory formation.
Jacksonville’s fourth division championship was only the fifth since 1970 that a team went from the league’s worst record to division champion.
The Jaguars were 4-29 over the last two seasons.
Former Clemson football star Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville trailed all game until 2:51 left
Jacksonville never led in the game until the scoop and score by Allen with 2:51 left.
Lawrence finished the regular season with 4,113 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Etienne finished the season with 1,125 yards rushing and 316 yards receiving and has placed himself in the top tier of NFL running backs in year one on the field, after missing all of last season with a Lisfranc injury.
Jacksonville will host a playoff game next week against an opponent to be determined.