After a tremendous rookie campaign, Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. has struggled to replicate his initial NFL success early in his sophomore season. The LSU product finished third in the league in receiving yards last year, but through three games in 2025, he has caught just seven passes for 115 yards and no touchdowns.

Thomas Jr. is among the early leaders in drops this season, and in the first half of the Jaguars' game against the Texans on Sunday, dropped another pass that could have gone for a significant gain.

Despite Thomas Jr.—and much of the Jaguars receiving core—struggling with drops this season, quarterback Trevor Lawrence did not lose faith in his star wideout. He even revealed after the game, "That's what I told [Thomas Jr.] on the sideline. 'Hey, stay in it, you’re going to end up making the play to set this one up for us to go win it,' and it happened," Lawrence said.

Lawrence's prediction came true. After catching just one pass through the first 58 minutes of the game, Lawrence hit Thomas Jr. on a pass and he turned up the field for a 46-yard gain in crunch time. The Jaguars scored a touchdown on the following play to take a 17-10 lead over the Texans. The defense then intercepted C.J. Stroud as the Texans tried to come back, and the Jaguars earned their second win of the season.

As concerns grew over Thomas Jr.'s drops and underwhelming start leading into their game against Houston, Lawrence continued to reiterate his faith in his young teammate. Instead of shying away from targeting Thomas Jr. after another drop Sunday, Lawrence instead told him he believed he'd make a play that would position to win the game. And Thomas Jr. delivered.

Along with Lawrence maintaining his confidence in Thomas Jr., head coach Liam Coen credited his quarterback for changing the play on that 46-yard catch and run. Originally, the Jaguars intended to run the ball, but after seeing a zero blitz pre-snap, Lawrence changed the call, and his quick thinking resulted in the long catch which set up their final touchdown.

The Jaguars offense was far from pretty on Sunday, but on their biggest drive, both Lawrence and Thomas Jr. stepped up to win the game.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Trevor Lawrence Reveals Message He Told Brian Thomas Jr. Before Critical Catch on TD Drive.

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