Good, Not So Good From Jaguars' Domination of Patriots in Week 3: Trevor Lawrence Responds

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars improved to 2-1 on Sunday, and it seemed like they hardly had to break a sweat to do so.

Jacksonville took down the New England Patriots with a 35-6 win in Week 3, and the game might not have even been as close as the score indicates. But even with a significant win to bounce back from last week's loss, there was still some good and some bad to go with the win. So, what was the good and not so good?

The Good

Trevor Lawrence's Response

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) greet mid-field after the game of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Patriots 35-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars needed Trevor Lawrence to have a big day on Sunday, and he did exactly that. Lawrence finished the day with 19-of-29 passing for 182 yards and three touchdowns, and his lone interception came on a play that went through Brenton Strange's hands. Lawrence was elite in the red-zone, made good decisions with the ball, and made plenty of big throws with pressure come down the barrell. Lawrence looked like an MVP-caliber quarterback on Sunday for the second time in three weeks.

Considering the Patriots had allowed just 16 points total before today's game, that was quite the performance from Lawrence -- and it almost included a rushing touchdown on top of it. Lawrence did everything the Jaguars needed him to do to carry the offense in a bounce-back week, and that is who the Jaguars need him to be each week.

Travis Hunter's Big Day

nflk — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter (12) celebrates his interception in the second quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Travis Hunter once again did not have much of a role on offense, but that was largely because the Jaguars were able to put up 35 points without needing him. The difference for Hunter, though, was that he played a much larger share of the cornerback snaps this week, with the Jaguars seemingly leaving him on the field on defense more than they had in the first two weeks.

Hunter responded with the biggest play of the day, and it was the kind of play the Jaguars needed to see. The pressure around Hunter's role has been significant since the season began, and Hunter was able to quiet the noise in a big way with a game-changing interception of Drake Maye in the red-zone right before halftime.

"Critical moment. Critical situation. Down low red zone right, before the half. That's a huge momentum swing play," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after the game. "I wish we would have been able to get some points off of it. Felt good about getting points at the end of the half there, we kind of tripped it off but Travis made the play, get the monkey off his back a little bit in some ways to go out there and make a huge play."

The Third-Downs

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile looks on before an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Browns 34-10. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It is easy to say the Jaguars won this game on the money downs. Jacksonville was simply a completely different team on third-down than New England was, and it did not matter what side of the ball they were on. Jacksonville's defense limited the Patriots to just 4-of-12 on third-down, with the biggest win being Hunter's interception of Maye on 3rd-and-Goal from the Jaguars' two-yard line. Then there was the offense, who managed to go 8-of-12 on third down and keep drives alive consistently. The Jaguars also converted every red-zone trip into a touchdown, while the Patriots did not reach the end-zone in three red-zone trips.

"I thought we had a good plan, we tightened the game plan on third down. Just had a little bit less inventory. Had some runs in there that I think we did some good things on, and then when we needed to drop back and make a couple plays, we had some good protection," Coen said. "Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] stood in there on the one to Jakobi [WR Jakobi Meyers] later in the game on the third down where they had a free rusher coming down the middle. The guys just executed so well in critical moments and you look at situational football with the red zone and third down, obviously, with some of those statistics is where, I kind of think, we probably won the game in some ways."

The Run/Pass Balance

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) finds a hole in the fourth quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

This felt like the kind of offense that Liam Coen wants to run. The Jaguars were able to have Trevor Lawrence drop back and pick apart the Patriots' secondary, both downfield and in the short-to-intermediate parts of the field, but they were also able to lean on the ground game. Bhayshul Tuten rushed 15 times for 73 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed eight times for 37 yards and a touchdown, his most productive outing yet. The Jaguars were able to play a balanced game on offense, and it paid off in a big way.

The Takeaways

nfl — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) loses the ball on a fumble turnover during the first quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars' defense was able to pile onto Drake Maye and the Patriots offense with some key takeaways on Sunday. One of them came on a play in which Drake Maye simply dropped the ball as he started his throwing motion, but it took some legit awareness from Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton to scoop it up. Add in two interceptions from the cornerback room with Travis Hunter and Jarrian Jones and it was an active day from the defense.

The Not So Good

The Interception

nfl — New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones (25) intercepts a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) in the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Really the lone negative moment for the Jaguars came during the first-half, with Trevor Lawrence ripping a pass to tight end Brenton Strange over the middle of the field. The pass went through Strange's hands and ended up in the hands of Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones, giving Lawrence his second interception in as many weeks. Last week's interception was all Lawrence, but this one was not.

The Pass-Rush (at times)

nfl — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is pressured by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro (99) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Patriots 35-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars' pass-rush heated up a bit as the game went on, and they did get a sack from Ruke Orhorhoro and a split-sack from DaVon Hamilton and Bryan Thomas Jr. near the end of the game. But before the game got out of hand, it felt like the Jaguars were once again having to lean on their blitz looks to attempt to get pressure and even those did not really seem to work. Foyesade Oluokun led the Jaguars in quarterback hits with two, which is far from ideal.

The Lack of Brian Thomas Jr.

In a day where the Jaguars scored five touchdowns and Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns, Brian Thomas Jr. was thrown one pass and turned it into an eight-yard gain. The Jaguars threw the ball more to six other players, including LeQuint Allen and rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron. It just seems like there is nothing really clicking for Thomas in the Jaguars' passing game right now, with him feeling like, at best, the third-option and, at worst, fifth.

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