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The thing about "statement wins" is they only last until another statement is made; the NFL, after all, is a "What have you done for me lately?" league.

So when the Jacksonville Jaguars followed up a "Monday Night Football'' triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs with losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, a one-point overtime escape against the Las Vegas Raiders and a 19-point fourth-quarter collapse to the Davis Mills-led Houston Texans, the statement seemed to be these were the same ol' Jaguars.

Actually, there were more questions than statements.

Was Trevor Lawrence really the answer at quarterback? Was Liam Coen really the answer at coach? Was James Gladstone really the answer at general manager? Was the Travis Hunter experiment -- a costly one that required them moving up to the No. 2 draft pick -- already a complete bust? The Jaguars were 5-4.

That was then. This is now: The Jaguars have won eight straight games, a streak that includes impressive wins over the Los Angeles Chargers by 29 points, the Indianapolis Colts by 17 and the Denver Broncos by 14. In a a 48-20 Week 15 blowout of the New York Jets, Lawrence became the first player to throw for five touchdowns and run for at least 50 yards and a touchdown in a game.

There are several factors in the Jaguars' climb from mediocrity to the league's best team over the last eight weeks: the league's best run defense, the acquisition of Jakobi Meyers and an ascending pass rush all qualify. But it all comes back to Lawrence.

Trevor Lawrence this season

Weeks 1-10

Weeks 11-18

Yards per attempt

6.3

8.2

TD-Int

10-7

19-5

Negative play rate

10.2%

7.5%

Air yards per attempt

8.0

9.6

Expected points added per dropback

-0.07

0.14

Based on that last line, Lawrence has gone from playing at a level equivalent to Justin Fields to producing like a top 10 quarterback league-wide. So, what's happened?

Lawrence using his strengths more: mobility, big arm shining

Given the unsteady nature of Lawrence's NFL career so far, it's easy to forget how highly regarded he was coming out of Clemson in 2021. A big reason for that pedigree was his athletic skills: big arm, good athlete, mobile, able to create. Those attributes have shown up from time to time during his pro career, but never as consistently as they are right now.

Of all the plays Lawrence made against the Jets, his two best were ones where all of those skills were on display. First is this touchdown run, where he jukes out Will McDonald IV and beats everyone else to the end zone.

Second is this incredible 33-yard throw to Parker Washington:

Yes, the Jaguars won easily and, yes, it was against the Jets, but those are two of the most impressive plays you will see from any quarterback this season.

Not including kneeldowns, Lawrence has 37 carries for 188 yards and five touchdowns since Week 11, good for 5.1 yards per carry over that span.

But the downfield throwing has really been impressive. Since Week 11, Lawrence has 53 completions on throws at least 10 yards downfield, tied with Matthew Stafford for most in the NFL. And it's not just outside "go" balls, either; Lawrence is accessing every part of the field.

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Only 11.1% of those throws have been off targets, the lowest rate in the league and a massive development for a player who can struggle with inaccuracy. He also had just two turnover-worthy throws on these attempts, the third-lowest rate in the NFL.

"Definitely this is as confident as I've felt," Lawrence said after Week 15. "Just the feeling in our locker room and our team and our offense. It's been fun."

It's more than just words: After clinching the AFC South with a win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 18, Lawrence donned a grill on his teeth -- poking fun at a meme -- much to his teammates' delight.

"It's pretty funny," Lawrence said. "People have been asking me when I'm going to get one, and I'm like 'I don't plan on getting one,' but they got me one. I think it was some guys from the team, and I think somehow my wife might have been involved in that, getting my teeth measurements or something because it fit. Something's going on there. It's just been awesome this year with the team and just how close we are. I think that's really the fun part of it."

The Jakobi Meyers effect

Some scoffed when Gladstone said Meyers' superpower was "not dropping the football" after acquiring him from the Raiders. But for a Jacksonville team that led the league in drops (24) and drop rate (8.6%) at the time, perhaps simply catching the ball really was a superpower.

Meyers has been so much more, though. During the eight-game winning streak, he has caught 39 of 58 targets for 442 yards, three touchdowns and 19 first downs. The 26 first down receptions are tied for 11th-most in the NFL over that span. He also only has just one drop. Maybe Gladstone was right.

Meyers is also opening up an area previously inaccessible for Lawrence: the middle of the field. Over the past eight weeks, Meyers has been by far the NFL's best wide receiver in this area: 12 catches on 15 targets for 212 yards on "In" routes. The receptions and the targets lead the NFL; the yards are second to Puka Nacua. It has made a world of difference for Lawrence, too.

Trevor Lawrence throwing "In" routes this season

Targeting Jakobi Meyers

Targeting anyone else

Comp pct

80%

54%

Yards per attempt

14.1

9.2

Passer rating

113.2

85.4

Meyers, a former quarterback, has impressed Lawrence and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski with his feel for the game.

"There's a lot of different examples that show his feel," Udinski said in Decemer. "I think the first one that shows up is kind of his feel in space. You see some of these teams playing zone coverage where they have defenders who have vision on the quarterback and they have different spots to get to and different landmarks, or they're reading off of what our routes are to kind of determine what their drop's going to be. He has a feel for where those defenders are going, where they're trying to get to, and then where his route fits off of that. And that kind of takes a second and third level order of processing, not just to know we tell you to get to this spot, but this spot is going to open up because we're telling you to get to a spot that looks covered."

It really shows on the "In" routes, where Lawrence is often throwing to spaces Meyers is yet to inhabit.

That's high-level trust between quarterback and wide receiver, even if they've only been teammates for a few months.

With Meyers excelling on those routes, Brian Thomas Jr. is getting more vertical opportunities, and he is playing well once again after an inconsistent start to the year; he had 87 yards in Week 14 and 66 more (and a touchdown) in Week 15. His average depth of target has gone way up with Meyers in the fold, and the big plays have returned.

It's hard to say Meyers has revolutionized this offense, but he has absolutely made a huge difference as a perimeter wide receiver able to do the dirty work, go over the middle and catch the ball consistently. The Jaguars have made a lot of moves for wide receivers recently; Meyers has been by far their most successful.

"We had a lot a of respect for Jakobi watching him over the years, whether it was in New England or in Vegas, knowing that he was going to be able to come in and make an immediate impact on our offense," Coen said. "I think it's helped open up not just the confidence that Trevor has being able to throw and catch, but also helps open up some other guys, right? Where you've got a few other people that the defense has to identify and defend, and ultimately you're trying to make the defense defend every blade of grass, that's both vertically and horizontally. He's been huge for our offense."

What's ahead?

This is Lawrence at his best: the intermediate and deep throws, the scrambling, the negative play avoidance ... it's all adding up. During its eight-game winning streak, Jacksonville is averaging a league-high 33.6 points per game (while also allowing an NFL-low 14.5) and is second in yards per pass attempt.

Now comes the hard part: the playoffs, starting with a home date against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. The Bills struggle to defend the run but are strong against the pass; only the Broncos and the Seahawks are allowing a lower net yards per attempt.

Lawrence and the Jaguars will likely hope they can establish a presence on the ground and throw on play action off of that. Buffalo has allowed 7.4 net yards per pass attempt against play action compared to 5.2 with no play action, and Lawrence has shown several of his impressive physical traits when using play action. There's a thought that Allen is "due" given the relative lack of other highly accomplished quarterbacks on the AFC side of things, but Lawrence and Jacksonville are in strong position to show they're ready to make a run, too. The last eight weeks are all the proof one needs.