Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence Is Finally Living Up to the Hype

I’m sure there are diehard Clemson and Jaguars fans who are taking their victory laps and shouting “I told you so” to all the Trevor Lawrence nonbelievers after Jacksonville’s signature 34–20 victory vs. Denver on Sunday.

It took longer than expected, but finally, Lawrence is playing up to the high expectations that were placed on him as the 2021 No. 1 pick coming out of Clemson. Lawrence carved up the Broncos’ dominant defense and has Jaguars fans thinking about the Super Bowl for the first time in a long time.

As for Lions fans, they might finally be accepting that this team isn’t good enough to make the postseason after the 29–24 loss against the Steelers. The good years in Detroit are suddenly over, and now coach Dan Campbell has looming coordinator decisions in the offseason to possibly right the ship next year.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles might not have any offseason decisions in Tampa Bay if the team decides to part ways with him after a disappointing season. Tampa Bay is on the verge of missing the postseason after losing to Carolina, 23–20.

Here’s the full rundown of what we learned in Week 16.

Lawrence may have finally reached his high potential

I know Lawrence has the epic come-from-behind wild-card win over the Chargers in 2022, but what he did to the Broncos’ stout defense on Sunday might be the best performance of his five-year career.

Lawrence (23-of-36, 279 yards, four total TDs) had total control of the game and had no issues moving the ball against Denver’s tough defense and in front of its raucous fans at Mile High Stadium.

Not many believed in Lawrence’s recent improvements because it came against the Titans, Colts and Jets the prior three weeks. As it turned out, what Lawrence has done under the guidance of first-year coach Liam Coen is the real deal. It’s time to take Lawrence and the Jaguars (11–4) seriously as Super Bowl contenders, especially because we’re finally getting the Lawrence that many expected when he was referred to as a generational talent as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.

Lawrence’s offense has now had success moving the ball against Denver and Houston, arguably the two best defenses in the league. Jacksonville also has quality wins over the 49ers, Chiefs (with Patrick Mahomes), Chargers and Colts. I’m not sure what else the nonbelievers need to see from this team before the postseason.

It’s going to be critical for Lions to select right coordinators in 2026

There’s a strong chance Campbell will go into another offseason with vacancies at offensive and defensive coordinator.

Both sides of the football drastically regressed for Campbell in the first season without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn as coordinators, as both moved on to become head coaches in Chicago and New York, respectively. The Lions (8–7) hit rock bottom in the loss against the Steelers that put their playoff hopes on life support.

Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has struggled to get results from one of the worst units in the NFL, one that got lit up by a middle-of-the-pack Pittsburgh offense for 481 total yards, including 230 rushing yards, with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell running wild throughout the game. Last week, the Lions allowed the Rams to generate 519 total yards and 41 points.

As for the offense, the unit picked up the pace in the final minutes against Pittsburgh, but it was way too late, giving the Steelers the victory after Amon-Ra St. Brown’s offensive pass interference in the final seconds.

This talented offense has gone stagnant for long stretches this season and it has lacked creativity with the usage of running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. It’s not a coincidence that Johnson fixed the Bears' rushing attack in his first season as head coach, while Detroit’s ground game has taken several steps backward with the murky operation of Campbell and John Morton.

Technically, Morton is listed as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, but it hasn’t really been his job since Campbell stripped him of playing-calling duties in November. There will be plenty of pressure on Campbell to hire the right OCs next season, because it would be a mistake to run this back with the same coordinators next season.

Todd Bowles on the hot seat after Bucs’ three-game losing streak

It’s become obvious that the Buccaneers hit their ceiling under Bowles a long time ago.

Let’s go back to 2023 when there was chatter about Bowles possibly being on the hot seat due to a slow Year 1 with Baker Mayfield as the starting quarterback. This was Bowles’s second season as the head coach in Tampa Bay, which followed the disappointing 8–9 season in 2022 when Tom Brady returned from a brief retirement.

But the rumors about Bowles’s job security quickly died down because Mayfield took off and the Buccaneers won five of their final six regular-season games and had a narrow defeat to the Lions in the divisional round. However, since that surge, the Buccaneers have had more offensive coordinators hired for head-coaching positions (Dave Canales, Coen) than playoff wins. Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia in a wild-card matchup in the 2023 season, but was quickly bounced from the postseason the following year with a wild-card loss to Washington.

Now, there’s a strong chance the Buccaneers don’t make the postseason this season after losing to Canales’s Panthers. It doesn't bode well for Bowles that the former OCs are doing better, including Coen, who has the Jaguars at 11 wins after the signature victory over the Broncos.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles — The Bucs are 34–32 under Bowles, including six losses in their last seven games. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Even if Tampa Bay somehow wins its fifth consecutive NFC South title, it’ll likely have another one-and-done playoff appearance, perhaps facing one of the top teams from the mighty NFC West.

Bowles has accomplished plenty in his four seasons in Tampa Bay and he should get more credit for the work he’s done with Mayfield, even though he doesn’t call offensive plays. But this team is too talented to not pull away from the pack in the mediocre NFC South the past few seasons. The Buccaneers (7–8) have never won more than 10 games under Bowles.

It might be time for a coaching change after the Buccaneers lost to the Saints, Falcons and Panthers in consecutive weeks. That’s a new low after this team hit its ceiling back in 2023.

Tyler Shough surpasses Jaxson Dart as best rookie QB this season

Giants rookie first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart had a horrid performance in the 16–13 loss against the Vikings, perhaps the worst game by a signal-caller this season.

It took Dart nearly two quarters just to get a single completion, often looking confused by the way defensive coordinator Brian Flores was attacking him. He finished 7-of-13 for 33 measly yards, one interception and a low passer rating of 27.4. With how poorly Dart has played as of late, interim coach Mike Kafka is now a long shot to fill the head-coaching vacancy in New York.

It’s now debatable as to whether Dart remains the best rookie signal-caller this season. That honor should belong to Tyler Shough, the 2025 second-round pick who had a career performance in the Saints’ 29–6 win over the Jets. Shough went 32-of-49 for 308 yards and one touchdown to guide New Orleans to a third consecutive victory, beating the Buccaneers and Panthers the prior two weeks.

There’s also 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who has made slow and steady progress throughout his rocky rookie season. Ward went 21-of-28 for 228 yards and two touchdowns in the Titans’ 26–9 victory over the Chiefs, who played most of the game with third-stringer Chris Oladokun.

Perhaps the top rookie QB debate gets settled next week when Ward’s Titans host Shough’s Saints.

NFL could be gifting a bad product on Christmas

The league’s determination to dominate the sporting events on Christmas backfired this season.

Here’s what the holiday tripleheader on Thursday will consist of: Four teams eliminated from playoff contention (Commanders, Cowboys, Chiefs, Vikings) and possibly three backup quarterbacks starting. And this doesn’t even include the Lions, who have slim postseason hopes after the loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

There’s a chance we get Dak Prescott’s Cowboys against Josh Johnson’s Commanders in the first game—if Marcus Mariota can’t play due to multiple injuries, and Jayden Daniels has already been shut down for the rest of the season. That game could be followed by Jared Goff’s Lions vs. Max Brosmer’s Vikings—if J.J. McCarthy doesn’t get cleared for his hand injury.

In the nightcap, it will likely be Bo Nix’s Broncos against Oladokun’s Chiefs—Gardner Minshew II sustained a torn ACL injury in Tennessee, one week after Mahomes’s significant knee injuries.

Woof. The NBA could have more eyeballs than expected for its Christmas offerings.