How Trevor Lawrence overcame a historically bad start to lead Jaguars to one of biggest playoff comebacks ever

Trevor Lawrence had the worst start to a playoff game since Craig Morton in Super Bowl XII, becoming the first quarterback since Morton to throw four interceptions in the first half. The difference between Lawrence and Morton? Lawrence was able to lead his team to one of the greatest comebacks in NFL postseason history. 

Lawrence finished 28 of 47 for 288 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions (70.2 rating) as the Jacksonville Jaguars erased a 27-point deficit in a thrilling 31-30 comeback over the Los Angeles Chargers, a game in which the Jaguars quarterback was on pace to have the worst postseason game in NFL history.

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Lawrence threw three interceptions in the first quarter of his playoff debut and became the first player with three-plus interceptions in a quarter of a playoff game since Carson Palmer had three in the fourth quarter of the 2015 NFC Championship Game against the Carolina Panthers. He threw an interception on his first playoff attempt, the first player to do that since Aaron Rodgers in 2009. 

The first-half performance was so poor that Asante Samuel Jr. — who had three interceptions in the first half — had more completions off Lawrence than any other Jaguars player. Lawrence had a 0.6 passer rating at the end of the first quarter, during which he went 4 of 13 for 30 yards and three interceptions. 

Lawrence wasn’t any better until the two-minute warning before halftime. He was 5 of 18 for 35 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions as the Jaguars trailed, 27-0. Lawrence’s passer rating was 0.0.

Then the game changed. Here were Lawerence’s numbers before the two-minute warning in the first half and the rest of the game.

Trevor Lawrence vs. Chargers

The Jaguars outscored the Chargers, 31-3, the rest of the way, scoring touchdowns on four consecutive possessions — during which Lawrence threw a touchdown pass to four different receivers in the process. Jacksonville scored on its final five possessions, capped by Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal as time expired to pull off the upset. 

In the fourth quarter, Lawrence went 8 of 12 for 93 yards and a touchdown (117.7 rating) to lead Jacksonville to the largest comeback in franchise history. Lawrence threw for four touchdowns for just the second time in his career and threw touchdowns on four consecutive possessions for the first time in his career. 

The Jaguars needed Lawrence to play at his best to have any chance of completing their frantic comeback. Fortunately for Lawrence, this performance was a tale of two halves — the latter one just barely good enough to dig the Jaguars out of a 27-point hole.