Gene Frenette: Trevor Lawrence 2, Josh Allen 0. Jags QB outshines Bills signal caller

LONDON — The fist pump said it all.

As Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson began exiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium field, the unbridled joy was unmistakable. He looked up at his wife Jeanne and their friends in the stands, putting a hand near his mouth to obviously shout some form of approval.

Just seconds before, when Pederson clenched his right fist and raised it skyward, that was as good a sign as any about the impactful message the Jaguars sent to the rest of the AFC.

For the first time this season, a team many pegged as a potential Super Bowl contender looked the part. While the final score may not reflect it, the Jaguars dominated the red-hot Buffalo Bills most of the day.

In an impressive 25-20 victory before a full house of 61,273 spectators — a heavy amount of them being part of the “Bills Mafia” that made the venue feel like a hostile road environment — the Jaguars were superior in just about every way.

Not only by coming out of their offensive shell, but a stout defense kept Bills quarterback Josh Allen in check long enough to pull off a London two-step.

Jaguars report card: Grading the performance against Buffalo Bills in London.

For the second time in seven days, the Jaguars (3-2) won a game in the U.K., but this one will resonate far more than last week’s ho-hum victory at Wembley Stadium over the Atlanta Falcons.

That’s because Pederson’s team came in a solid underdog, going against a pyrotechnic offense and quarterback Josh Allen that rang up 123 points in their previous three games. The Jaguars would have little shot at taking out the explosive Bills without ratcheting up their own game, especially the sputtering offense.

Despite fumbling away two balls in Buffalo territory and taking five sacks, quarterback Trevor Lawrence displayed the toughness and resiliency needed to win an imperfect game.

“We've got to find a way to kind of stop stalling out at times, but we answered the bell every time they rang it,” said running back Travis Etienne. “That's what you've got to do as an NFL team, and we were able to do that, and to play great teams you have to make plays, and we made plays whenever we needed to.”

Every time the Bills threatened to seize momentum, Lawrence either answered with pinpoint passes to Calvin Ridley or Etienne pounded away at a tiring defense that was on the field for 82 plays.

The Jaguars patiently stuck with the running game, sending Etienne (26 carries, 136 yards) into the teeth of the NFL’s sixth-ranked defense and around it until he delivered the knockout blow: a 35-yard TD run for a 25-13 lead with under three minutes remaining.

Jacksonville beat up the Bills in a physical, gladiator-type clash. No wonder, then, Pederson released some of that pent-up emotion in the aftermath.

“It's okay to let your emotion and everything show every now and then, and I know I try to keep things in too much,” Pederson said. “But maybe I should show that emotion a little bit more, but I was very proud of our guys, the way they hung in there for 60 minutes in this football game.

“I'll fist-pump after every one of those.”

Jaguars’ physicality ruled the day

As for the Bills’ on-fire offense, it cooled considerably, unable to register a first down until the first quarter clock was almost expired. Buffalo didn’t even cross midfield until less than four minutes remained in the first half.

By the time Allen got the Bills’ offense moving in the fourth quarter with 180 of his 359 passing yards, it was too late. Among the first words he uttered in his postgame aptly described the outcome, saying: “You know, the opposing team, they were ready to go today. We weren’t.”

You’d never know it by the Jaguars’ zero quarterback sacks — a highly suspect roughing-the-passer call did nullify a sack of the Buffalo QB by the other Josh Allen — but the defense actually won the line of scrimmage.

Buffalo had no running game whatsoever and its offensive line was manhandled to the point where it committed five holding penalties.

One Jaguars pass rush had Allen dancing around to break free in the pocket so much, he couldn’t quite get enough air on a deep ball for Stefon Diggs. That allowed Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams to come from behind and wrestle the ball away for a pivotal fourth quarter interception at the Jacksonville 7.

Instead of the Bills possibly grabbing their first lead at 14-11, Lawrence and the Jaguars responded with a 10-play, 93-yard TD march for an 18-7 advantage.

That was just one of several examples of where Lawrence’s resilience offset his two fumbles. One was a strip sack where left tackle Cam Robinson whiffed on pass-rusher A.J. Epenesa, the other when the Jaguars’ QB failed to secure the ball properly while getting sacked by Ed Oliver.

“This game, it's an imperfect game, so it's never going to be perfect, but there's definitely things that we need to clean up,” Lawrence said. “We need to continue to clean up. Still just a little bit sloppy.

“But the difference is we're making the plays when we have to make them in crunch time. And I think the other two games that we've lost, we didn't do that when the moment was there.”

On that 93-yard TD drive, Lawrence ignited it with a 20-yard strike to Ridley, then Etienne’s three straight runs of 10, 11 and 6 yards finished it.

Whatever shortcomings the Jaguars’ patchwork offensive line had protecting Lawrence — it lost left guard Walker Little early to a knee injury — they cleared enough of a path for Etienne to wear out the Bills. He had 17 carries for 111 yards in the second half.

Trevor won QB duel

If anybody still has much doubt about whether Lawrence can ascend into an NFL star, his overall body of work against one of the league’s better defenses added to the evidence.

Put aside his solid numbers (25 of 37, 315 yards, 102.9 QB rating) for a second. Instead, focus on what Lawrence did to give his team the advantage and ultimately keep it.

“Yeah, he's more than ready for those big moments,” Ridley said. “We trust Trevor no matter what. He's going to make the right read. He's going to do the right thing at the right time."

On his only passing TD of 6 yards to Zay Jones to open the scoring, he lasered a throw where only his receiver could reach up and get it, taking a shot from Oliver in the process. That roughing-the-passer penalty, assessed on the PAT, compelled Pederson to go for two points and Etienne’s run was successful.

Lawrence weathered a protection breakdown on one fumble and his own carelessness on another, but it didn’t faze him. When the biggest moment arrived, he didn’t flinch.

On third-and-4 from his own 31, Lawrence noticed Ridley lined up outside with only safety Micah Hyde up in press coverage. Nobody over the top.

Lawrence checked out of a running play because the Ridley-Hyde matchup was too enticing to pass up.

“Yeah, Trevor, they lined up in empty, and Trevor looked at me and gave me a signal, and I ran what he gave me,” said Ridley.

As Ridley raced down the right sideline, Lawrence floated a perfect pass over his right shoulder for a 32-yard catch that denied Buffalo a chance to get the ball back with an 18-13 deficit.

Two plays later, Etienne burst into the secondary and found the end zone, sending Bills Mafia into a state of despair because that was the kill shot.

But that never happens without No. 16 reading the coverage, then dropping that dime to Ridley to keep the chains moving.

“It wasn’t necessarily the look I was expecting,” said Lawrence. …  “So that's like a great matchup, dream matchup for us, so I was excited, and we just took the shot.”

Dealing with Mafia mayhem

Beyond Lawrence outdueling Allen for the second time in three years, what made this one of the best wins of the Pederson era was the environment.

While the Jaguars may be London’s team based on playing more games here than anyone else, the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur felt way different than any of Jacksonville’s previous 10 matchups in the U.K.

The Jaguars were clearly the villain as the Bills’ vociferous supporters made sure this venue felt every bit as hostile as playing in Buffalo. It started with heavy booing in pregame whenever the Jaguars came on the field, a reminder to the Jaguars this would be no home away from home.

“Yeah, definitely felt like more of a road game this week for sure,” said Lawrence. “The Bills fans, they came out and obviously this was like a home game for them. They came out and they were loud. We weren't really anticipating using silent cadence, and we had to, I'd say, half the game maybe.”

Etienne felt emboldened by the derision, saying it just gave him more incentive to put on a “masterpiece” performance.

“I remember at the beginning of the game just running out, and I ran out and there were just so many boos,” said Etienne. “I thought we were the London team honestly, and I realized today that we weren't, not today. And I just wanted to give them something to show.”

The Jaguars put on a show, all right. They completed a London doubleheader sweep that could be the catalyst for a promising season.

They have seemingly righted a ship after that disastrous 20-point loss at home two weeks ago to the Houston Texans. Now the Jaguars are in line to seize control of the AFC South, providing they can hold serve at home Sunday against the co-leading Indianapolis Colts.

If that happens, maybe Pederson will give it two fist pumps.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence steps up when needed in victory over Buffalo