Saints Resurrect From The Dead, But Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence Buries Them Again

NEW ORLEANS - Trevor Lawrence can finally leave the Big Easy without a hard edge.

"I've had a bad taste in my mouth every time I've left New Orleans," he said.

Not this time. Lawrence shook off a left knee sprain from Sunday against Indianapolis and completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and the go-ahead touchdown for Jacksonville in a 31-24 win over the Saints at the Superdome Thursday night.

Lawrence threw a short pass over the middle to wide receiver Christian Kirk, who outran and dodged several ghostly Saints tacklers for a 44-yard touchdown and the 31-24 lead with 3:08 left.

It was Lawrence's first win in this haunted city, and he craved an exorcism of sorts.

Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence gained his NFL career-high 59 yards rushing on an injured knee Thursday night in a 31-24 win at New Orleans. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Lawrence lost the College Football Playoff national championship game here with Clemson to LSU and Joe Burrow, 42-25, on Jan. 13, 2020, and then a CFP semifinal, 49-28, to Ohio State on Jan. 1, 2021.

"Thought about it, yeah," he said. "Not the main reason, but part of the reason why I wanted to play, too."

Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence Injured His Knee Last Sunday

As of Monday, Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson did not think he would play.

Then, like a man who visited a voodoo priestess in the French Quarter Wednesday night, Lawrence rushed for his NFL career high 59 yards on nine scrambles while wearing a knee brace for the first time. He also led the Jaguars (5-2) in rushing for the first time.

In other words, Marie Laveau took a beating, along with the Saints defense.

Did he rub some gumbo on his knee? Or was it the voodoo?

"Golly, it's crazy how you have something like that going on, and you don't plan on moving a lot and being able to run the ball," he said. "It's funny how that works."

Magic?

"Didn't bother me too much," he said. "I mean it went perfect, honestly. It didn't feel good at all on Monday. Our medical team did an amazing job. I felt much better than I thought I would."

The Saints may have assumed Lawrence couldn't run, which is perhaps why he did so well as the lanes opened.

"It wasn't the plan, but instincts kind of take over. I'm glad it was able to hold up," Lawrence said.

"On Monday, I would've told you that he was not playing in this football game," Pederson said. "But that's not who Trevor is. It shows the type of person he is."

Snakebit Saints Couldn't Handle Jaguars And Lawrence

In turn, New Orleans seemed hexed as it fell to 3-4 on the season. After Lawrence directed the Jaguars to a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, 17-6 at the half and 24-9 in the third quarter, somehow the Saints rose from the dead.

Quarterback Derek Carr led a 75-yard drive in 16 plays for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to get the Saints within 24-16. Then he hit wide receiver Michael Thomas on a 17-yard touchdown and found back Alvin Kamara for the two-point conversion and a 24-24 tie with 6:38 left.

Alas, after the Saints reached the 5-yard line in the final minute, the voodoo brew flowed back for Jacksonville. New Orleans native tight end Foster Moreau dropped a touchdown pass that was right in his hands with 25 seconds left. And Moreau rarely dropped passes, if ever, while a star at LSU. A fourth down pass into coverage fell incomplete.

It wasn't enough. The Saints needed Drew Brees-us.

"It feels good to win here," Lawrence said. "I haven't had much success in this stadium in college. So that feels really good."