NFL

Jaguars rebuild 'all worth it' after Lawrence's first road win

By Sports Desk September 26, 2022

The Jacksonville Jaguars believe they can be "something special" after Trevor Lawrence ended his wait for a first NFL road win in impressive fashion against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers are among the favourites in the AFC this season but were beaten 38-10 with Justin Herbert playing through injury at SoFi Stadium.

Lawrence outshone Herbert, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-39 passing.

After nine straight defeats on the road to start his career, Lawrence finally guided the Jaguars to victory; the last NFL quarterback to start his career with nine away road losses and then a win was Peyton Manning.

And this was a commanding win, too – the Jaguars' biggest on the road since the 2001 season (33-3 at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15).

Jacksonville have not enjoyed a winning season since 2017 and had only four victories over the previous two campaigns combined.

But they are halfway to that number already in 2022 at 2-1, boosted by the ability to select consecutive first overall draft picks in Lawrence and Travon Walker.

Team-mate Dawuane Smoot said after the win: "It's been all worth it, going through a rebuild each year. Now, I feel like we're finally starting to get it.

"We just started. It's only three [games]. We still have a long season to go. But I feel like we're turning the corner to being something special."

Having crushed the Indianapolis Colts 24-0 at home in Week 2, Lawrence added: "It's awesome, two weeks in a row.

"I think the coolest thing is [after] a big win last week to see that same focus and intensity and preparation this week. That's a sign we're heading in the right direction. We've got to keep doing that week in, week out.

"Obviously, every week is going to present new challenges; you've just got to come ready to play. We did that, and it was awesome."

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