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Inside Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's game-winning touchdown run against Chiefs
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- Inside Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's game-winning touchdown run against Chiefs
Two of the key figures in the Jacksonville Jaguars ' 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs converged in the hallway connecting the trainers room and locker room shortly before midnight.
This was about 30 minutes after quarterback Trevor Lawrence (Key Figure No. 1) fell to the turf after getting his right foot stepped on by the left foot of right guard Patrick Mekari (Key Figure No. 2). Lawrence regained his bearings to scramble for a 1-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds remaining, capping one of most thrilling wins in Jaguars history.
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What was Lawrence's plan post-stumble? What was coach Liam Coen thinking? What did back-up quarterback Nick Mullens see? How did the offensive linemen know what to do? All top-of-mind questions, but first the big one: Mekari's role when I caught up with him.
"About the winning touchdown …"
"Tell me," Mekari said.
"You stepped on Trevor's foot …"
"I had no idea," Mekari said.
Lawrence joined the conversation with Mekari and myself.
"Was it me?" Mekari said.
"I have no idea," said Lawrence, who thought it was fill-in center rookie Jonah Monheim .
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They had no idea how the play derailed, only that it was successful and could be the kind of successful play that catapults the Jaguars into greater things over the final three months of the regular season.
What a Monday night for the Jaguars and their fans . Those players mingling in the locker room with handshakes and reliving the key plays — what a moment for them. They don't get to play on the prime-time stage very often. Those of you who were crawling in Hart Bridge traffic around 1:30 a.m. —it was a happy drive home. You haven't gotten many of these over the last 20 years, right?
Mostly, though, what a sequence for Lawrence on his 26th birthday . He beat Patrick Mahomes for the first time in four attempts and overcame more head-scratching decisions to make three franchise quarterback-level plays on the winning drive.
"He wasn't going to lose," Coen said. "He made an unbelievable individual effort that hopefully can continue to springboard us."
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The Jaguars are 4-1, tied with Indianapolis for most wins in the AFC and tied the Colts , San Francisco , Philadelphia , Tampa Bay and Detroit for most wins in the NFL. Yes, the Jaguars are in heady company and yes, they belong there and if they stay in that group, you can point to Lawrence's final touchdown.
'What a crazy finish'
The Chiefs completed an 85-yard march with Kareem Hunt 's 2-yard touchdown run with 1:45 remaining. Harrison Butker 's kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Jaguars possession at their 40-yard line and two timeouts.
It started out, well, not well. Fess up, folks. Did you really think Lawrence had a big drive in him? I know I was in the mode of him likely making a play to seal the win … for Kansas City.
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Lawrence scrambled for 4 yards, but then let 23 seconds burn off the clock before he was sacked. Coen called timeout at the 1:01 mark.
The Jaguars needed a chunk play, a play to move into Kansas City territory, a play that meant they didn't have to really get aggressive — and reckless — by throwing downfield on every snap. They got it on Lawrence's best throw of the season, a 33-yard drop-in-the-bucket to Brian Thomas Jr. , to the Chiefs' 24. What a throw and a catch. If that is the start of Lawrence and Thomas creating a productive connection (and it must happen soon), the Jaguars' offense will gain a needed boost.
"That was a high level throw," Coen said. "Trevor put a dime in there, over the shoulder, exactly where that ball needed to be — it was (Thomas) or nobody (catching it). Really big moment."
MORE FROM O'HALLORAN: What we learned about Jaguars in their 31-28 MNF win over Chiefs
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On the next play, Lawrence threw a dart for 13 yards to receiver Dyami Brown (his second-best throw of the game).
But then, adversity. Incompletion, delay of game penalty and 2-yard pass. On third-and-13 from the 14, Lawrence's end-zone interception was negated by a Charmarri Conner pass interference penalty.
First-and-goal at the Chiefs' 1 with 29 seconds remaining. No timeouts remaining.
Lawrence lined up under Manheim, who was in the game because of starting center Robert Hainsey 's left hamstring injury.
Cue chaos …
:29— Mekari stepped on Lawrence's foot and he eventually fell down at the 6-yard line.
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"When he got stepped on and was coming out of it, it was, 'Oh, My Gosh, throw it away so we have another down,'" Coen said.
:29— Lawrence's first attempt to get up failed. He was now at the 8-yard line.
"Pretty sure that will be funny on the tape," he said.
:28— Lawrence got up and looked left.
"Honestly, it was panic because I was trying to get up to get the ball out of my hands because we didn't have any timeouts," he said. "I was really going to stand up and launch it (through) the back of the end zone. But then I had a little bit of lane."
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Said Mekari: "We were blocking and then the (Chiefs' defense) linemen stopped and the crowd went silent."
:27 —Lawrence turned up the field.
"Just tried to find a guy to block," Monheim said.
:24— Lawrence broke the tackle attempt of Chiefs defensive tackle Jerry Tillery .
:23— Lawrence dove into the end zone.
"On that gaffe of a play, he made an awesome play," Mullens said. "An athlete's instincts."
Pandemonium on the field, on the Jaguars' sideline and among the fans surrounded by Chiefs' red.
"What a crazy finish," Lawrence said.
All in 6.28 seconds.
Nothing but cool on final drive
After the Week 4 win at San Francisco , Lawrence lamented how he passed up running opportunities. If he saw man coverage and scrambling lanes available, he was determined to start taking advantage. Through four games, he had 15 rushes for 32 yards (including kneel-downs). Against the Chiefs, he had 10 carries (tied a career high) for 54 yards (second-highest of career behind 59 yards in a 2023 win at New Orleans ) and two touchdowns (tied a career high).
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"That's something I've realized (in) just the first couple weeks," Lawrence said. "The defensive schemes are really good and sometimes they cover all the guys. Our (offensive) line has been blocking really well so being able to escape, use my legs and make the defense defend the whole field, (it) made a big impact for us."
In the first half, Lawrence had two 2-yard keeper runs, the second setting up a fourth-and-goal from the 1. But instead of the tush push, he tried to jump over the line and fumbled. Kansas City soon made it 14-0 and the Jaguars were in the rare position of playing uphill. Tough against the Chiefs.
Lawrence scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to tie the score at 14.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) celebrates his touchdown in the third quarter during a Monday Night NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug EngleFlorida Times-Union]
Let's face it, Lawrence has been uneven as a passer through five games so it was welcome to see him try to make plays in other manners. The Jaguars had struggled to stretch the field and some of that has to fall on the trigger man. Was he letting it rip enough? Was he missing things that he should easily see? The external chatter would have picked up had Lawrence been outdueled by the Mahomes.
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Mahomes directed what he had to think was the Chiefs' game-winning drive and get them over .500 after a 0-2 start. He ran around and did Mahomes-like things, things we're not used to seeing from Lawrence … until we did on the final possession. This was Lawrence doing things we see from Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield , Mahomes and Lamar Jackson .
"I didn't think Trevor was anything but cool on that drive," Coen said.
If Lawrence had showed panic, his teammates would have lost faith. Even when panic was understandable — falling on your keister — he gathered himself, found room, broke a tackle and won the game. Internal panic is fine. External panic leads to failure. Lawrence's guts were doing knots, but his start-to-finish body language on the winning play was all composured and plan-oriented.
All in 6.28 seconds.
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"An incredible play," Mullens said. "One that we and all Jaguars fans will remember for a long time."
O'Halloran can be reached at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trevor Lawrence never gave up on play to lead Jaguars past Chiefs
