Trevor Lawrence throws pick-six to start, game-winning TD to close first Pro Bowl appearance

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a less than ideal start to his first Pro Bowl game. The second-year quarterback replaced Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the all-star studded event in Las Vegas along with return specialist Jamal Agnew as representatives from Jacksonville.

Lawrence got the start in the second flag football game of the day on Sunday, a new format from the NFL to reimagine the Pro Bowl and shine a light on players in a week-long celebration.

Stars from the NFC and AFC competed in multiple minigames to secure points in a full weekend of events, culminated by three flag football games to determine who’d take home $84,000 bonuses for each winning player and $42,000 for players from the losing side.

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The Jacksonville quarterback got off to a rocky start in the game, being pushed back by a bad snap before finding himself fleeing pressure from Cowboys’ linebacker Micah Parsons.

He spun out of a would-be sack and fired a shot down the field, but it resulted in a pick-six for Jaire Alexander of the Packers.

Later in the game, the AFC dialed up a trick play that saw Lawrence take a toss from Tyreek Hill before he flipped a pass to Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs with the intention of throwing it back to Lawrence for a touchdown.

Instead, Diggs’ pass was intercepted by his brother, Trevon, who returned it and set up an easy touchdown for the NFC.

But Lawrence and Stefon found redemption later in the game. On fourth and long, Lawrence unleased an endzone to endzone pass to a striding Stefon who secure the game-winning score for the AFC.

Stefon celebrated by snagging the Jaguars’ director of photography Kam Need’s camera and organizing a group photo of his AFC teammates.

Despite their efforts, the AFC still lost 35-33 behind a strong NFC performance by the NFC in the third flag football game.

Lawrence also competed in a QB Precision Passing game on Thursday where he scored 19 points to help win the competition for the AFC and open up an early 9-3 tally for points in the competitions.

The AFC side was coached by former Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning who offered his thoughts on Lawrence on Saturday during the practice for Saturday’s game, noting that “the sky is the limit” for Lawrence.

After the games were finished, Lawrence tweeted that he wanted to add a “different word before Bowl next year” hinting that he hopes to be playing in the Super Bowl next season.

The Jaguars fell just short of that goal this season, making it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the Chiefs.

Lawrence was one of three AFC quarterbacks including Derek Carr of the Raiders and Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley in the first year of the new Pro Bowl format.

Juston Lewis is a sports reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence pairs nicely with Stefon Diggs in Pro Bowl