JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For his 25th birthday, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence gave his team their first win of the season – and also gave himself a gift: his first win in nearly 11 months.

Lawrence threw for a career-high 371 yards and two touchdowns and led the Jaguars on their final drive to set up Cam Little’s game-winning field goal from 49 yards to beat the Indianapolis Colts 37–34 at EverBank Stadium.

“It’s a happy birthday,” Lawrence said, then corrected himself. “It’s a great birthday.”

It was a cathartic performance for Lawrence, who had not thrown for more than 220 yards in the first four games of the season and had not surpassed 300 yards since throwing for 364 in the Jaguars’ 24-21 win at Houston on Nov. 1 . January 26, 2023. That was also the last time Lawrence won a game as a starter. He had gone nine straight starts without a win (he missed the Jaguars’ win over Carolina on December 31, 2023 with a shoulder injury).

This was also the Jaguars’ best offense all season. They had scored just 60 points – 20 of them last week – and topped 300 meters only twice in their first four games. They put up 497 against the Colts, the most they’ve ever had since they had 503 in an overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys on December 18, 2022. It’s the most yards they’ve had in regulation since they had 507 in the extension. a 34-27 loss at Carolina on October 6, 2019.

“I think it’s always good to use these games to build confidence,” Lawrence said. “It gives you confidence in the striker. I think for myself and for the team, just the way the game went. Obviously we were in control and it got crazy at the end. I thought it was good for us to continue negotiation.” with the setbacks and to find a way to finish if things didn’t go perfectly at the end of the game.

“The first win of the season was tough and it came right to the end and we had to earn it.”

Lawrence completed 82.4% of his passes against the Colts, the third-best completion percentage of his career, and the only blemish was an intercepted pass to receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the end zone that was intercepted. Lawrence also connected with Thomas on an 85-yard touchdown pass and a 61-yard pass to receiver Christian Kirk on a drive that ultimately ended with his 4-yard TD pass to tight end Brenton Strange.

“I always say no one deserves it more,” Kirk said of Lawrence. “He weathers the storm, he doesn’t blink and we all have the confidence in the world that he will come here and play one of those games. I’m grateful he did and when he does, good things happen things for him.” “I know it’s great for him and his confidence and the team’s confidence that he’s going to lead us and take us where we want to go.”

Sunday’s performance will certainly blunt some of the criticism leveled at Lawrence after a rough start to the season, but it won’t go away completely until he puts in a string of solid performances. That’s what he did in the second half of the 2022 season to lead the team to the playoffs and the first half of the 2023 season before being hit by multiple injuries.

“That stuff doesn’t matter,” Lawrence said. ‘You can’t listen to the good or the bad. So I think things that will come through, and I’m sure there are a lot of questions. What’s going on with the Jaguars? What is this? What is that? Well, we’ll use it as a chip on our shoulder and counter that to the world mentality and bring us closer together.”

This was evident in the locker room after the game when the players sang Happy Birthday and showered Lawrence with water after one of the best games of his career. And one of the best in NFL history for a quarterback on his birthday: Only David Woodley (408 yards) and Brett Favre (390) have thrown for more yards on their birthdays than Lawrence.

“We have some momentum now, and we have to run with it and try to get another week,” he said.