Week 8 QB Index: Trevor Lawrence Rises After Turnover-Free Game vs. Giants

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the middle of a four-game skid that has completely derailed what once looked like a promising season, but that doesn't mean they aren't seeing good signs from the quarterback position.

Second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence started October off in a rough fashion, but the last two weeks have seen him play relatively mistake-free football, not turning it over once in Week 7's 23-17 loss to the New York Giants.

Lawrence completed 22-of-43 passes (51.16%) for 310 yards, averaging 7.21 yards per attempt and finishing with a passer rating of 74.8. He also scored one rushing touchdown, his third in the last two weeks.

While Lawrence missed a critical potential touchdown pass to Zay Jones, he was far from the reason the Jaguars lost the game vs. New York. And as a result, Lawrence was on the rise in this week's quarterback index from NFL.com. Lawrence rose one spot this week, landing at No. 20 after being No. 21 last week.

"Lawrence showed fight against the Giants. I'll point to a minor sequence in the first quarter that saw him pound into New York's defense for a yard on third-and-2 before dialing up a 2-yard connection with Zay Jones to move the chains on fourth-and-1. I mention these snaps -- on a drive that ended in a field goal -- because it was another example of Doug Pederson showing faith in his second-year starter to put the offense on his back," NFL.com's Marc Sessler wrote.

"Each week brings a parcel of passes that sail high of the mark -- and Lawrence tossed a handful of turnover-worthy lobs against New York -- but Sunday's tight loss marked another clean start beside a strong outing against the Colts one week prior and his Week 3 smashing of the Chargers."

This was also more or less the way Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson described Lawrence's performance, noting that he showed physical mettle during the contest after taking a few hard hits during the day.

“Yeah, the last two weeks he’s done a nice job leading the football team. Yesterday he played tough from a physical standpoint," Pederson said on Monday.

"He played physical. Took some shots in there, standing tall. That last drive with a minute and four, I think, left, we ran about 10 plays or so, and he took some shots there. It’s great to see him get us down there in position again, so he’s on the right track. We just have to keep him headed in the right direction, keep him focused. Can’t get discouraged with where we are because we’re still right there with everything that’s going on. We’ve just got to find a way to get one win.”

Here is how the rankings have looked each week:

Week 2: No. 19

Week 3: No. 20

Week 4: No. 14

Week 5: No. 17

Week 6: No. 24

Week 7: No. 21

Week 8: No. 20

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