Chargers blow 27-point lead, fall to Jaguars in AFC Wild Card game

Trevor Lawrence's confidence somehow never wavered. Not after the first interception. Or the second. Or the third. Or even the fourth.

The generational quarterback simply delivered a generational comeback.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft followed four interceptions with four touchdown passes — one of the most improbable turnarounds in NFL postseason history — and rallied the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-30 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.

Lawrence engineered the winning drive, highlighted by Travis Etienne's 25-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play, and put the Jaguars in position for Riley Patterson's 36-yard field goal on the final play. It capped a 27-point comeback, the largest in franchise history and the third largest in playoff history.

"You couldn't write a crazier script," Lawrence said. "We said in the locker room that's kind of how our season's going. We're never out of the fight. ... I'm kind of speechless, honestly, just to see what belief can do and to see when a team believes in each other what you can accomplish."

Patterson's kick barely stayed inside the right upright and set off a raucous celebration for a franchise that had won a combined four games over the previous two years. The Jaguars (10-8) won their sixth consecutive game and fifth straight at home — all five in come-from-behind fashion.

Nonetheless, no one could have seen this one coming. Maybe not even Lawrence. But he was the steady hand in charge after a debacle of a first half. He finished 28-of-47 passing for 288 yards, a shocker considering the way he started.

Lawrence was downright dreadful to begin Jacksonville's first playoff game since losing in the 2017 AFC title game. He became the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw four interceptions in the first half of a playoff game, joining Detroit's Gary Danielson and Denver's Craig Morton.

But he bounced back as well as anyone in NFL history. Jacksonville's comeback goes down in postseason lore behind only Buffalo's rally on Jan. 3, 1993 (32 points against Houston) and Indianapolis' on Jan. 4, 2014 (28 points against Kansas City).

"I didn't have a choice," Lawrence said. "If we're going to win that game, digging ourselves a hole like that, you've got to score a lot of points. By doing that, your quarterback's got to play well. So I clearly didn't have much of a choice.

"These guys have sacrificed way too much for me to be the reason we lose an opportunity. That's what I was thinking about. I know I'm going to make the plays. I've just got to get back on track. The guys around me made plays. It's not just me."

The Jaguars, who also turned the ball over when a punt hit Chris Claybrook's helmet, became the first team to win a playoff game with a turnover differential of minus-five or worse. Teams with that turnover deficit had been 0-19 in the Super Bowl era.

Lawrence misfired early and often and started getting booed long before halftime. His confidence seemed shot. His swagger appeared gone. All the progress he made in his first season with coach Doug Pederson looked like it would be flushed in the team's finale.

But Lawrence never gave up. He connected with Evan Engram, Marvin Jones, Zay Jones and Christian Kirk for touchdowns that increasingly raised the team's belief in its quarterback and its comeback.

Lawrence added one of the biggest plays when he jumped for a 2-point conversion with 5:25 to play that made it 30-28 — and put the Jaguars in position to win instead of tie.

Jacksonville's defense responded by sacking Justin Herbert and then forcing a punt. Lawrence took over from there, with a significant assist from Etienne — and Peterson's bold play call.

"I feel like the running back, when it gets to that point of the game, you're supposed to be the closer," Etienne said. "Coach believed in me on that fourth-and-1, to give me the ball. I had to make something happen for my teammates."

CHARGERS COLLAPSE

Herbert threw for 273 yards and a touchdown without an interception, but the Chargers' offense was largely ineffective after a 62-yard TD drive that made it 24-0 midway through the second quarter. Los Angeles (10-8) finished with 320 yards of offense and 18 first downs, and it produced only three points on four second-half possessions.

Chargers coach Brandon Staley surely will be questioned for being too conservative — he opted for a field goal on fourth-and-3 midway through the fourth quarter that Cameron Dicker missed — and for not trying to run the ball more. LA had 23 rushing attempts for 69 yards, a 2.9-yard average, while Herbert threw 43 times.

ANOTHER PENALTY

Jaguars rookie linebacker Travon Walker, the first overall pick in the 2022 draft, was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a second-down sack in the fourth quarter. Instead of facing third-and-13, the Chargers got 15 yards and an automatic first down, extending the drive that ended with Dicker's missed field goal from 40 yards.

It looked like it would be the third time this season that Walker had a costly penalty late in a game.

He was flagged for roughing the passer on a third-and-12 play that helped Indianapolis beat Jacksonville in Week 6. A week earlier, he drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness against Houston, turning a third-and-20 play into a first down. The Texans found the end zone seven plays later and won.

KEY INJURIES

Chargers receiver DeAndre Carter and left tackle Jamaree Salyer left the game with ankle injuries. Chargers cornerback Michael Davis left with a pectoral muscle injury. Lawrence cut the tip of his left thumb in the fourth but wrapped it up and played on.

UP NEXT

Chargers: Will have a tough offseason dealing with this loss.

Jaguars: Await their road divisional opponent, which likely will be top-seeded Kansas City next weekend. The Chiefs won their regular-season meeting.