Clemson Alums Shine in Jacksonville Jaguars' Exciting Season

The AFC is seeing plenty of teams turn heads over the course of this season, and one of them is a team led by two fan-favorite Clemson Tigers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on a five-game win streak after a 48-20 rout over the New York Jets in their home stadium. In the win, the team saw a career day from former Clemson standout quarterback, Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence set a career-high in passing touchdowns, throwing for five, while running in another from 15 yards away. The former Tiger led the Jaguars to a 31-point first half going into the break, showing the legitimate case for why he was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Three of those passes went to his longtime colleague in the backfield, and another former Clemson Tiger, running back Travis Etienne Jr., who had a perfect three receptions for 73 yards with the scores. He has never finished with more than one receiving touchdown in a game before Sunday, as well as being the first time in his NFL career with three total touchdowns in a game.

Etienne, who has seen Lawrence at his best, namely during the 2018-20 seasons, where he went to the College Football Playoff all three times and won a national championship, said that his quarterback is growing in an “unbelivable” way.

“I don't think I've ever seen Trev like this, and we won a national championship together," the running back said. “He's on fire. You've seen it.”

Even in Lawrence’s Clemson career, he had never finished with six total touchdowns or more in a game, being his third straight game without a turnover for Jacksonville. For the fifth-year player, he’s finding a confidence that he’s never had in the NFL.

This is as confident as I've felt,” Lawrence said. "Just the feeling in our locker room and our team and our offense, it's been fun.”

Lawrence and Etienne have been unlocked by first-year head coach Liam Coen, who has seen the Clemson duo reach new heights like never before in the league so far. After the five-game winning streak, Jacksonville is now in control of its own destiny for the future.

The Jaguars are now first in the AFC South, after a vital division win two weeks ago against the Indianapolis Colts. At a 10-4 record, the team is the current No. 3 seed in the AFC in the NFL Playoff Picture and projected to host a home game at Everbank Stadium. With only three games remaining, Jacksonville only needs one win to get its first playoff appearance since the 2022-23 season.

Lawrence and Etienne will lead the team into a pivotal matchup at Mile High Stadium against the Denver Broncos next Sunday, and if the Jaguars are able to take down the top team in the AFC, some may consider Jacksonville to make some noise in a wide-open AFC this postseason.

“I mean, it’s been fun,” Lawrence said, “so, we’ve got to continue to build on that and not get complacent. There’s still a lot ahead for us and some big games coming up. So, we’ve got to continue to push and get better.”