Gene Frenette: Jaguars' rising star Lawrence may loosen Titans' hold on AFC South

Maybe it was fitting that Trevor Lawrence, in what looked like an ever-so-brief uncharacteristic show of taunting, and some teammates waved goodbye to a dismayed Tennessee Titans’ crowd at the two-minute warning.

Then again, that quick wave of Lawrence’s hand could also be interpreted as a hello by the Jaguars’ quarterback, affirming his status as a rising NFL star who may well own the AFC South sooner than any of his division rivals care to think about.

For the first time in nine years, the Jaguars came to Nissan Stadium and not only walked away victorious, but should be walking on air about what Sunday’s resounding 36-22 win over the hated Tennessee Titans could mean for the franchise’s future.

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This stunning Jaguars rout, accomplished by scoring 29 straight points against a rival who had owned them for a decade, potentially represents a seismic shift in the division. Maybe not in 2022, though the Jaguars have hope being two games behind Tennessee with four to play, but certainly in the coming years.

It’s impossible to look at the Jaguars’ dominance, only their second road victory in 24 games, and not wonder if we’re witnessing the start of an AFC South changing-of-the-guard moment.

Think about this: If Lawrence could have the best day of his NFL life against the Jaguars’ nemesis on just one day of practice — his sprained big left toe kept him sidelined until Friday — then what might happen when No. 16 is completely healthy and has more time to understand all the nuances of Doug Pederson’s offensive system?

“I thought Trevor, for the limited amount of practices he played, played tough, played physical, played smart, made a heckuva — some great throws actually in this football game,” Pederson said.

That’s become more of a common occurrence, which should be of grave concern for the slumping Titans (7-6) as they attempt to hold off the surging Jaguars (5-8) in the homestretch.

Lawrence (30 of 41, 368 yards, 3 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD) put up his fourth 100-plus quarterback rating in the last five games. Since that inexcusable loss to the Denver Broncos in London, he has completed 130 of 181 passes (71.8 percent) for 1,362 yards, 10 TDs and zero interceptions.

“You just watch him — anyone who really knows football can see the tape,” said receiver Zay Jones. “The kid is playing well.”

Trevor put on clinic

This was almost a carbon-copy of Lawrence leading the 28-27 comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago.

“His confidence is definitely growing,” said offensive tackle Juwaan Taylor. “He’s a great leader for us. I feel like each week, he’s just getting better and better.

From midway through the second quarter, Lawrence was close to flawless on five consecutive scoring drives. One resulted in a field goal, only because Jones failed to corral a well-thrown back shoulder pass near the goal line, followed the next play by a drop of a perfect third-down throw on a slant route.

Everything after that was a passing clinic. Jones caught an exquisite 20-yard TD to give the Jaguars a 20-14 halftime lead. The ball had just enough velocity to sail through the outstretched right hand of cornerback Roger McCreary, with Jones barely getting his left foot down inside the sideline chalk.

It didn’t matter that Jamal Agnew’s 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was nullified by a penalty to start the second half. That just opened the door for another round of Trevor magic.

On third-and-4, he threaded a pass to Jones in-between two Titans defenders to move the chains. On third-and-6, he scrambled left and connected on a perfect pass to Agnew. Then Lawrence capped off the 72-yard TD march by stiff-arming linebacker Dylan Cole to find the end zone.

When asked if this performance removed any lingering doubts about Lawrence’s ability to put a team on his shoulders, Pederson replied: “Other than winning a Super Bowl? I’ll tell you this: he’s been able to handle everything. And now he’s battling the injury this week and put the team sort of on his back like he did again today just shows the type of player and person that he is and how tough he is.

“He can only get better, you know, and that’s the one thing that I’m most encouraged about is just how much more we can pour into him as he leads this team.”

This was a thorough beatdown of the Titans, who were seemingly on division cruise control three weeks ago, like nothing the Jaguars experienced since the Jack Del Rio years.

Defense finally steps up

Not to give Lawrence all the credit for this 180-degree turnaround from last week’s 40-14 debacle against the Detroit Lions. The Jaguars’ pilot had plenty of dependable wing men.

Tight end Evan Engram had a career-high 162 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line protected Lawrence (no sacks) and that ailing toe like keeping the season alive depended on it, which it did.

But what also triggered the runaway was a defense that forced a season-high four turnovers, including the hit of the year late in the first half when linebacker Shaquille Quarterman lodged the ball loose from Titans running back Derrick Henry.

Quarterman’s contact to Henry’s 247-pound body was so impactful, the ball fell into the waiting arms of Josh Allen at the Jaguars’ 22. It marked the third takeaway of the first half when the Titans were threatening to add to a lead, and this one led to Jones TD scintillating catch that gave the Jaguars a 20-14 halftime margin.

Even without a whiff of a running game, there was no stopping a Lawrence-led offense, which outgained the Titans 154 yards to minus-20 in the third quarter.

“It’s just cool seeing our offense take off like that, especially after somewhat of a rough start,” said Lawrence. “Not rough but a three-and-out and they scored on first possession and so we kind of got in a hole there.”

More so than the methodical 38-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, this was the Jaguars’ most complete performance because the defense finally stepped up as a difference-making unit for the first time in a while.

Mike Caldwell’s unit took advantage of a severely limited Titans’ offense, especially at the tackle position, to collect four turnovers and four sacks. It totally shut down Henry (17 carries, 121 yards) after he rumbled for 96 yards in the first quarter.

Josh Allen, who put Ryan Tannehill down late in the game for his first sack in eight games, felt the Jaguars understood the gravity of the situation. Losing to the Titans meant elimination from the AFC South race and a long last month of the season.

“I know we’re building something special, we talked about this,” said Allen. “We know that this was one of the things that we had to do to get where we need to be.”

Door slightly opens for Jaguars

It’s been 3,318 days since the Jaguars last won a game in Nashville, which came under less-eventful circumstances. The Jaguars were 0-8 in Gus Bradley’s first season when they beat the 4-4 Titans, a 29-27 win that was sealed on cornerback Will Blackmon’s 21-yard TD fumble return off his strip sack of Ryan Fitzpatrick.

This Titans’ takedown feels like it could be a harbinger for a promising future, both for Lawrence and Jacksonville’s franchise.

“It just shows what this team is made of and the direction we are headed,” said Lawrence. “I think that’s huge and to get some momentum back this last stretch at the end of the season. Obviously, these games are huge if we want to give ourselves a shot at the postseason and you can’t win five of them if you don’t win one.”

Make no mistake, the Titans are an injury-plagued roster that is reeling, having been outscored 71-32 the past two weeks. Because they couldn't slow down a toe-impaired Lawrence, they don't have the same toehold on the division.

Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel didn’t sound like Mr. Optimistic when asked about his team’s first three-game losing streak since 2018, his first season.

“I was excited about coming back home and excited about playing against a division opponent,” said Vrabel. “I thought we were prepared. I don’t know what it says about this.”

What it says is the Titans have left a slight crack in the door for the Jaguars to steal the AFC South.

If the Jaguars can just split its next two tough games — home against the Dallas Cowboys, followed by a Thursday night road tilt with the New York Jets — it's not inconceivable that the home season finale against Tennessee could decide the AFC South title because the Jaguars would own any tiebreaker by sweeping the Titans.

Whatever happens, it’s hard to escape the feeling that Sunday’s victory represents a potential turning point for the Jaguars and the future of their division.

If not this year, then not long after, the Jaguars are going to supplant Tennessee as kings of the AFC South for one reason: they have Trevor Lawrence and the Titans do not.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540  

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Titans feeling heat as Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars' defense flip script