The Jacksonville Jaguars rolled the dice in more ways than one when they opted to go for two after a fourth quarter touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With a nine-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Christian Kirk, the Jaguars cut the Chargers’ lead to 30-26. After a penalty on Joey Bosa moved the Jaguars closer to the goal line, coach Doug Pederson decided to try to trim the lead down to two. It was a significant risk as Jacksonville would’ve needed a last-minute touchdown if it didn’t work.
It turns out that Trevor Lawrence made a risky decision in that moment too.
On Tuesday, the second-year quarterback revealed that his one-handed Michael Jordan-esque dive over the goal line for two points wasn’t the play call.
“Yeah, I did,” Lawrence told reporters with a laugh when asked if he freelanced on the play. “It was a play where I just saw the opportunity and I figured that’d be a lot easier. I didn’t feel like there was any risk. I knew I could get it in, so I just took it.”
AIR LAWRENCE. Two-point conversion is GOOD.#SuperWildCard @trevorlawrencee
📺: #LACvsJAX on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LG9lf52l9m pic.twitter.com/Al7Jp7J5lb— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
Lawrence, 23, said that Pederson wasn’t mad about the improvisation from his quarterback.
“He was pumped. If you make the play, you’re good.”
It’s not the first time Lawrence has gone off the script to make a play. In a December road game against the Tennessee Titans, the quarterback pulled the ball back from Travis Etienne Jr. on a play that was intended to go to the running back. Lawrence stiff-armed a Titans linebacker and scored the touchdown on his own.
“When you’re out there playing and you feel something — the coaching staff has trusted me to make plays,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence finished the regular season with five rushing touchdowns, fifth most in the NFL among quarterbacks.
