3 Things We Learned About the Jaguars vs. the Eagles: Trevor Lawrence's Fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars had to pull out all of the stops for their fourth win of the season, but they made it happen in Week 5.

The Jaguars survived an upset attempt from the Philadelphia Eagles thanks to Cam Little hitting a walkoff 57-yard field goal in a 19-17 win. But what did we learn from the Jaguars' narrow win, and what could it all mean moving forward?

Trevor Lawrence is Playing With a Different Energy

nfl — Oct 11, 2026; Tottenham, ENG; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) reacts after a penalty during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Trevor Lawrence did a lot of good things on Sunday sans his second-half interception. He was faced with plenty of unfavorable 2nd- and 3rd-and-long situations due to the penalties for the second week in a row, but he made so many plays in and out of structure that helped the Jaguars move the ball. Had the Jaguars figured things out in the red-zone, the score would have more so reflected the performance that Lawrence had. But among all other things, Lawrence also showed some of the maturation as the general of the offense when he, well, was irate after yet another red-zone penalty.

Trevor Lawrence CRASHED OUT on his center 😭 pic.twitter.com/bUC2oV1z3Y
— Underdog (@Underdog) October 11, 2026

It was a sign of Lawrence's fire that, frankly, needed to be shown considering the situation. I have covered every single game of Lawrence's NFL career, and I never once saw him quite so frustrated and then let the rest of the offense know about it. Lawrence is a cool, calm and collected type of leader, and this isn't something he would have done a few years ago at least not in my eyes. Call it the Liam Coen impact, call it the natural growth of a franchise quarterback, but Lawrence showed the fire that many thought he was missing entering the NFL.

"I do like seeing him have that fire and that, you know, competitive edge. You know, he wants it to be good. He wants the operation to be clean. I think there was a lot of frustrations throughout that game that probably built up to be more emotional in that moment," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Monday

The Pass-Catcher Pecking Order is Being Set

nfl — Oct 11, 2026; Tottenham, ENG; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Mac McWilliams (22) during the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I thought Parker Washington had the best game of any Jaguars skill player, which is easy to say with two touchdowns and over 120 receiving yards. Washington is far and away the clear Jaguars' No. 1 receiver, even with his one-catch game in Week 4 in the rear view window. But after Washington, I think we are starting to see a second player establish himself on the Jaguars' pecking order in the passing game: Brenton Strange.

Over the last three weeks, Strange leads the Jaguars with 21 targets, 17 receptions and 195 yards despite ranking third on the team in routes in that span with 75. Strange has been effective for the Jaguars aside from a few uncharacteristic drops in that span. His increase in volumn does not seem like an accident, though, especially considering most teams are better at defending passes out wide than they are in the middle of the field.

Washington is the clear No. 1. Brian Thomas Jr. clearly is a small part of the offense. Jakobi Meyers has, so far, felt more like an auxilary option other than in Week 3. I think Strange is the No. 2 pass-catcher in the offense right now.

The Penalties Were Not a One-Off

nfl — Oct 11, 2026; Tottenham, ENG; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) reacts during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars simply have to sort out their penalty issues. Some flags have certainly been silly calls by the officials, but some have been purely the Jaguars' fault. It is not the fault of the officials if the Jaguars are getting false starts and delay of games, which has happened far too often over the last two weeks especially. "The penalties are concerning when you start the season off in the first three weeks as the second-least penalized team in the NFL, and now over the last two weeks, we're arguably one of the most penalized teams in the NFL," Coen said.

The Jaguars have won each of their last 2 games despite 26 total penalties. They are the first team since the Seahawks in Weeks 10 and 11 of the 2011 season to win consecutive games with 13+ penalties in each game. Penalties are the major reason why the last two wins have had to come in one-score games, and the Jaguars simply have to figure out how to play cleaner football in all three phases. Penalties alone have wiped out three touchdowns and an interception for the Jaguars in the last two weeks. What happens when this happens against a good team and not just the Bengals or Eagles?

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