Trevor Lawrence threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the Jacksonville Jaguars completely throttled the Indianapolis Colts, 24-0, in Jacksonville, Fla.
The victory is Doug Pederson’s first as Jaguars head coach.
Playing their home opener, the Jaguars (1-1) controlled both lines of scrimmage. They enjoyed three long scoring drives that lasted at least 68 yards. Two of them milked more than 7 ½ minutes of game time.
Lawrence completed 25 of 30 passes in a performance similar to Week 18 last season, when he led Jacksonville to a 26-11 upset of Indianapolis that knocked it out of the AFC playoff picture. This game was more lopsided.
The Colts’ best scoring chance stalled out at the four-yard-line early in the fourth quarter due to a sack and an offensive pass interference flag. Another ended at the eight-yard-line with a Matt Ryan incompletion.
Ryan completed 16 of 30 passes for 195 yards and three interceptions, the first leading to the Jaguars’ first touchdown. Indianapolis (0-1-1) couldn’t establish the run behind 2021 NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor, either. He was held to five yards in the first half and finished with nine rushes for 54 yards with a pair of 21-yard runs in the second half.
Jacksonville started its domination of the game with its first possession, a 15-play touchdown drive that chewed up 9:11 of clock. Lawrence capped it by hitting Christian Kirk on a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 2:21 mark.
The Jaguars expanded their lead with a pair of scoring drives in the last eight minutes of the first half. Robinson burst 37 yards for a 14-0 advantage with 7:52 left, followed by Riley Patterson’s 52-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining for a 17-0 cushion at the break.
Any realistic hopes Indianapolis might have had for a comeback ended with a 92-yard touchdown drive that ended with Lawrence’s 5-yard scoring strike to Kirk 17 seconds before the third quarter’s end, upping the advantage to 24-0.
–Field Level Media