Rookie WR gives Trevor Lawrence sweet birthday present in Jaguars’ 1st win

Death, taxes and Jaguars home wins over the Colts. Jacksonville extended its home winning streak against Indianapolis to 10 but this one was sweeter than any of the previous nine. It marked the Jaguars’ first win of the season and it came on Trevor Lawrence’s 25^th birthday.

And his rookie receiver gift-wrapped a highlight-reel present, the second-longest receiving touchdown in franchise history. With Jacksonville trailing 7-3 midway through the first quarter, Lawrence found Brian Thomas on a go route down the right sideline for an 85-yard touchdown.

“We kind of put their zone defenders in a bind there,” said Lawrence. “They chose wrong. We had Brian over the top, something that we had a good plan for and took advantage of it. So, credit to him for finishing the run. I don’t know, he hit 22-something miles an hour, which is pretty crazy. So that was fun.”

It was 22.15 mph, to be exact, the top speed by an NFL ball-carrier this season and fastest ever recorded by a Jaguars player. Thomas finished with five catches for 122 yards, while Lawrence was 28 of 34 for a career-high 371 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, a 119.5 passer rating.

Jacksonville didn’t trail the rest of the way, although the Colts continued to tie the game. After Tank Bigsby broke through for a 65-yard touchdown run to open up a 34-20 fourth-quarter lead, Jacksonville had to hold on for its life over the final five minutes.

Colts quarterback Joe Flacco, starting for an injured Anthony Richardson, was flawless, but especially so in mounting a furious comeback. Flacco’s longest two passes came in those final five minutes, both to Alec Pierce. First, the veteran quarterback hit Pierce on what officials initially ruled a 46-yard touchdown, but replay ruled he didn’t break the plane and re-spotted the ball at the 1-yard line. One play later, Trey Sermon’s touchdown cut the Jaguars’ lead to 34-27.

Then, Flacco found Pierce again, this time for a 65-yard touchdown to knot the game at 34 with less than three minutes remaining. Flacco finished 33 of 44 for 359 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

But Lawrence answered with his own scoring drive, moving the Jaguars down the field in the final minute to set up a game-winning, 49-yard field goal by rookie Cam Little.

“Any win, any loss is hard to celebrate because you’re right back to work tomorrow, less than 24 hours,” said head coach Doug Pederson, who kept his team focused during a difficult week. We’re going to enjoy this one. We’re going to look at the tape, make corrections, and move forward.”

Forward to London, where the Jaguars (1-4) meet Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. It’s the first of back-to-back London games for Jacksonville, which will stay in the city and face the Patriots on Oct. 20 at Wembley Stadium.