Getty Image / Douglas P DeFelice
Late in the first half of Saturday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angles Chargers it looked like Trevor Lawrence was on his way to one of the worst playoff debuts by a quarterback in league history.
He changed that in a big way over the final 31 minutes of the game.
In that first half, Lawrence threw 4 interceptions and the Jaguars dug themselves a 27-0 hole to climb out of.
Over the last 31 minutes of the game, they were able to climb out of that hole. Trevor Lawrence matched his interception total by throwing 4 touchdowns and led the Jags on a late drive for a game-winning field goal to top the Chargers by a score of 31-30.
During that comeback, there was one key moment that made it possible for the Jaguars to be able to win with a field goal on their final drive.
After the Jaguars scored their 4th touchdown, Joey Bosa was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved the ball to the 1-yard line for a 2-point conversion. The Jaguars took full advantage of the opportunity as Trevor Lawrence took the ball himself and reached over the top to cross the goal line and cut the Charger’s lead to 2.
Today Lawrence revealed that he actually changed the play call on that play to run the QB sneak.
WATCH LIVE: QB @Trevorlawrencee meets with the media. https://t.co/OmIjkLz1lZ
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 17, 2023
Here’s what he had to say about why he made the call.
I just saw the opportunity and figured that’d be a lot easier. I didn’t think there was any risk. I knew I could get it in, so I just took it.
That successful conversion made it so the Jaguars didn’t need to decide between going after a touchdown to win or kicking a field goal for overtime on their last possession. It also went a whole lot better than Tyler Huntley’s attempt to reach across the line in the following day’s game between the Ravens and Bengals.
Thanks to that 2, the Jaguars now get to head to Kansas City for a rematch with the Chiefs in Round 2.