All the talk prior to the Week 3 contest between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers surrounded the health of Justin Herbert, the quarterback viewed as having ascended to the superstar level of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
By the end of an eye-opening afternoon at SoFi Stadium, the performance Herbert produced while battling fractured rib cartilage was completely overshadowed by that of a man crowned as a future great as early as high school as Trevor Lawrence's blistering start to his second season in the NFL reached new heights.
Freed from the shackles of working with the overmatched and underprepared Urban Meyer, Lawrence has quickly flourished in year two under the tutelage of former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson.
And his evisceration of a seemingly improved Chargers defense in a 38-10 rout served as a compelling reminder that – for all the talk of Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones – he is, and always was, the best quarterback from the much heralded 2021 draft class at the position.
Furthermore, even on a day when the Indianapolis Colts shocked the Kansas City Chiefs, it rubber-stamped the Jaguars' status as the most exciting and dangerous team in an AFC South division ripe for the taking.
It is the long-term picture that is more important for the Jaguars, though, and that is suddenly very bright after the clearest demonstration yet of the potential Lawrence has to take his place alongside the NFL's elite quarterbacks.
The raw numbers – a 71.8 per cent completion percentage, 262 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 115.5 – are impressive enough on their own.
Yet they do a poor job of illustrating how accurate, how composed and how devastatingly brilliant Lawrence was in helping deliver a result nobody outside of the Jacksonville facility would have thought possible three weeks ago.
There was little in a slightly underwhelming first quarter and a pair of red zone failures from the Jaguars to suggest Lawrence would outplay Herbert, and certainly not to the extent that he did.
But Lawrence finished the game delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 89.5 per cent of his 38 pass attempts, from which he threw just one pickable pass. Only four quarterbacks had a better well-thrown rate in Week 3 as of Sunday.
After twice coming up short from inside the 20, Lawrence then produced some of his best throws from inside the tight confines of the red zone, showing his incredible ability on the move for the Jaguars' first touchdown when he rolled to his right to evade the interior push of Otito Ogbonnia and produced a laser to find Zay Jones in the back of the endzone.
Zay Jones was the recipient of another superb deep throw over the middle on third down on the next drive, aided by Travis Etienne's blitz pickup of Derwin James, before Lawrence then hit Christian Kirk down the right sideline.
Lawrence showed his effectiveness rolling to both sides – a skill beyond many quarterbacks – when he looked to have finished that drive with a pinpoint throw to Evan Engram while moving to his left. Though that touchdown was overturned when a replay deemed Engram to have stepped out of bounds, the second half saw Lawrence punctuate the Jags' dominance in equally spectacular fashion.
James Robinson's 50-yard run put the Jaguars firmly in command and the running back duo of Robinson and Etienne allowed Jacksonville to play ball control before Lawrence hit Kirk on a high-velocity throw on a designed rollout for his second touchdown pass.
The final flourish was the defining moment of Lawrence's display. Having converted a third down by climbing the pocket under duress to deliver a dart to Marvin Jones Jr, Lawrence added the finishing touch on the Jags' final scoring drive by lofting a perfect throw over the head of Michael Davis and into the arms of the same receiver running a corner route to back of the endzone.
Marvin Jones deserves praise for a spectacular catch, but the stunning throw was yet another example of the ease with which Lawrence can dissect defenses with the physical gifts he has at his disposal.
Those attributes were wasted during Meyer's short stint in the NFL but Pederson has swiftly negated any damage done by the false start to Lawrence's career and seemingly put the man seen as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck back on the path to stardom.
Through three weeks, Lawrence has a well-thrown rate of 85.8 per cent that is eighth in the NFL and he has a supporting cast that is quickly silencing critics of the Jags' team-building strategy.
All of Robinson's three touchdown runs have come on carries of 10 yards or more, giving him the most such scores in the NFL. Etienne, meanwhile, is eighth in yards after contact per attempt (min. 10 carries) among running backs with 2.73.
Kirk, after receiving a much-maligned $72million contract from the Jags, is justifying that deal by producing a big play on 45.8 per cent of his targets, the sixth-highest ratio among wide receivers with at least 10 targets, he and fellow free-agent acquisition Zay Jones combining for 37 catches, 22 of which have gone for a first down.
On defense, the Jaguars have registered 21 quarterback hits, a tally topped by just five teams, with the athleticism and versatility of their defensive front causing Herbert and other quarterbacks consistent problems. Edge rusher Josh Allen, a first-round pick in 2019, has registered a third of those hits and recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss while the Jaguars have also succeeded in quickly harnessing rookie first overall selection Travon Walker's freakish athleticism.
At the second level, another first-round rookie, Devin Lloyd, helped make Herbert's life miserable on Sunday with his skills in coverage. Lloyd had three pass breakups and an interception, providing help to a secondary that does not lack depth of talent.
The Jags' strides on defense are reflected by them allowing opponents to score just six times in 33 drives, increasing Lawrence's room for error on the other side of the ball.
Yet such errors have been few from the former Clemson star and, while ups and downs are to be expected from a quarterback of his still limited experience at the highest level, Lawrence is playing with the confidence and assuredness of a man who may have already been through the worst of his pro career and survived unscathed.
Now with a head coach who understands how to make the most of his outstanding skill set and backed up by a talented if expensive supporting cast, Lawrence looks poised to grow into an even more dynamic and explosive playmaker at the game's most important position. For a franchise desperate to finally climb out of the doldrums, that development is priceless.
Broncos reportedly trade for Jets QB Wilson
Zach Wilson has a chance to restart his career in a new setting after the Denver Broncos reportedly traded for the former starting quarterback from the New York Jets on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The Broncos are also acquiring a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft, and the Jets will receive a sixth-rounder.
New York will also pay part of Wilson's $5.5million salary next season.
Wilson arrives in Denver after never living up to expectations with the Jets after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2021 draft.
He went 3-10 as a rookie in 2021, and things didn't improve in 2022, leading to his benching.
The Jets had seen enough and decided to move on from Wilson, trading for Aaron Rodgers prior to the 2023 season. Wilson, though, got another chance to start after Rodgers tore his Achilles on his first drive with New York in the season opener.
He was unable to take advantage of that opportunity, however, throwing for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games in 2023. His 77.2 passer rating ranked 30th out of 32 qualifying QBs last season.
In 34 career games, he has completed 57.0 per cent of his passes for 6,293 yards with 23 TDs and 25 picks.
Among the 30 quarterbacks with a minimum of 700 pass attempts since 2021, Wilson ranks last in completion percentage and QB rating (73.2), and 29th in both touchdown passes and yards per attempt (6.34).
In Denver, he'll likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March.
The only other quarterbacks on Denver's roster are Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, but the team could also decide to select one in Thursday's draft.
Arteta hails Arsenal resilience as crucial Chelsea clash looms
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a "joy to work with" ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race.
All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.
They returned to the top of the table with Saturday's 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands.
Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux.
"If you look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played, their effort is unquestionable and the results are something else," Arteta said.
"It's a joy to work with them, and it makes us realise we want to be involved in the big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League with the level that it requires."
Chelsea's ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to securing qualification for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, with their hopes of silverware being dashed on Saturday.
They were guilty of spurning several golden opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium, with their wait for a first trophy under the Todd Boehly regime being extended.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, is choosing to take the positives from that game as the Blues bid to draw level with Newcastle United and Manchester United in the table on Tuesday.
"Now we need to take the positive things from the game," Pochettino said. "This group of players needs these types of moments and games.
"Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then see how we can do better next season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Leandro Trossard
Trossard scored in October's reverse fixture as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to clinch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he has provided an invaluable source of goals from the left wing in recent games, with Gabriel Jesus struggling.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign, with nine goals, and only Bukayo Saka (14) has netted more for the Gunners this term.
Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson
Jackson missed several clear-cut chances as Chelsea failed to make the breakthrough against City at Wembley on Saturday, and he is perhaps running out of chances to show he can be the Blues' long-term solution in that number nine role.
Jackson's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from a total of 13.98 expected goals (xG), giving him an underperformance of -3.98. Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (-5.98) and Darwin Nunez (-4.1) have underperformed their underlying numbers by a greater margin.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea (five wins, two draws), going unbeaten through their last four against them. That is their longest such streak versus the Blues since they went 19 matches against them without defeat between 1995 and 2005.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (four wins, four draws) and have scored multiple goals in each of their last six. However, that run could come to a halt at the Emirates, with Arsenal possessing a strong record in the biggest games this term.
City and Liverpool have already left north London defeated this season, and Arsenal have not lost back-to-back home Premier League games since April 2022. Chelsea should be competitive, but the Gunners cannot afford to miss this chance to pull clear of their rivals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal 51%
Chelsea 22.5%
Draw 26.5%
Wolves v Arsenal: ‘What we still have to play for is beautiful’ – Arteta
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set out to remind his team that they still have something “beautiful” to play for despite their Champions League exit.
The Gunners slipped out of UEFA’s flagship club competition in midweek when they went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich, losing 3-2 on aggregate.
That defeat followed on from a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last Sunday – a reverse that significantly dented Arsenal’s title hopes, with the Gunners now two points behind Manchester City who, after this weekend, will have a game in hand.
Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday and, with City in FA Cup action, a win would see them move back to the top of the table, at least temporarily, so Arteta offered a reminder that all is not lost.
“I can guarantee you we are fully focused on Wolves and everybody's lifted,” he said following the loss in Munich.
“What we still have to play is beautiful and I said before, it's time to be next to our players and in this moment, not when you win 10 in a row and a draw, that's easy to prize our players and to be behind them and to say really nice things. The moment is now to be next to them.”
On Friday, in his pre-match press conference, Arteta added: “As an experience, [the Champions League was] the best one.
“I am now fully focused on the times ahead of us. We are now behind Manchester City and will give it a good go. The context is clear. If we win we are top of the league.”
Wolves sit 11th, though they could do with snapping a four-game winless streak in order to get their European hopes back on track.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Matheus Cunha
Cunha has been involved in nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, scoring six and assisting three. His 11 goals overall this season is the fourth most by a Wolves player in a single Premier League campaign after Raul Jimenez (17 in 2019-20, 13 in 2018-19) and Steven Fletcher (12 in 2011-12).
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Saka has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League away games, scoring seven and assisting one. His 13 away goal involvements overall this term (eight goals, five assists) is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League campaign since Alexis Sanchez’s 20 in 2016-17.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal lost a Premier League game for the first time in 2024 against Villa last time out. Since the start of last season, only twice have the Gunners suffered consecutive league defeats, doing so in May 2023 (v Brighton and Nottingham Forest) and December this season (v West Ham and Fulham).
Wolves are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2), though they have won their last two at Molineux against sides starting the day in the top two of the table, beating Man City 2-1 in September and Spurs by the same score in November.
Arsenal have scored in their last 32 meetings with Wolves in all competitions.
Wolves have now lost each of their last five against the Gunners, failing to score in both home defeats in that run.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 21.5%
Arsenal – 51.2%
Draw – 27.3%
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