Trevor Lawrence keeps Jaguars’ 6-2 start in perspective: ‘We’re not the best team in the league’

While he may only be in his third season, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has the perspective of a seasoned veteran. That perspective may stem from the fact that Lawrence won a national title at Clemson, so he’s not going to geek out regarding the Jaguars’ 6-2 start. It may also simply be the fact that Lawrence knows his team is only halfway through the season. 

Regardless of why, Lawrence has a keen understanding of his and his team’s current predicament. A strong start is just, well, a strong start that can possibly lead to better things down the road. 

“It means that we’ve still got more to work for,” Lawrence said when asked if he considers the Jaguars a Super Bowl contender following Sunday’s win over the Steelers. “We’re not the best team in the league. We’ve still got more out there for us. That’s all we know.”

Lawrence made his point by alluding to the Jaguars’ 2022 season. Jacksonville started 3-7 before winning six straight games following their bye week. The Jaguars won the AFC South, then defeated the Chargers in the wild card round. 

“It honestly means nothing,” Lawrence said. “It means we’ve had a great start to the season. We’re in a really good position going forward. But we’ve got a lot of big games after this bye and a lot of really good teams, too.

“We’re just getting started, and we know what’s in front of us and we can’t look too far ahead and think we’ve done anything.” 

Lawrence has been a big reason for the Jaguars’ turnaround over the past 12 months. After throwing a league-high 17 interceptions as a rookie, Lawrence has thrown just 12 picks over his last 25 regular-season games. He’s also seen dramatic improvement in his accuracy and has become more selective as far as running is concerned. 

Lawrence wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he made several big plays that included his game-winning 56-yard touchdown pass to Travis Etienne and his 34-yard completion to Evan Engram that helped put the game on ice. 

The Jaguars’ 20-10 win over the Steelers was just another example of Doug Pederson’s team’s ability to win games in a multitude of ways. The Jaguars also learned how to overcome their own mistakes after committing three turnovers in Pittsburgh. 

“We’ve come a long way, just, really, in every area,” Lawrence said. “I wouldn’t say it’s happened quicker than we thought. I think we’ve just been so caught up in our process every week of turning the page and just finding a way. … That mindset has given us a lot of confidence because we’ve seen ourselves winning these tight games.”