Trevor Lawrence showed the New York Jets what they were missing on Sunday

When the New York Jets defeated the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 15 and 16 of the 2020 season, there were many of their fans who felt they had ruined their chances of drafting quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

This is exactly how it panned out, with the Jacksonville Jaguars taking the Clemson product first overall. The Jets still took a quarterback after finishing 2-14, as they selected Zach Wilson second overall.

Fast forward to last Sunday and Lawrence showed the Jets exactly what they have been missing.

A contrast in fortunes

Whilst the Jaguars have not reached any Super Bowls, or even AFC Championships since Lawrence joined the franchise. However, there has been moments of excitement in Duval county.

The Jaguars reached the Divisional Round in the 2022 season, earning a famous comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wildcard Round.

They moved to 10-4 to main top of the AFC South, as they beat the New York Jets 48-20. Lawrence had one of the best performances of the season as he recorded six total touchdowns. The Jets moved to 3-11 after this result.

This is nothing new for the Jets, who extended their run of the longest playoff appearance drought. When they reached the AFC Championship in the 2010 season and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, nobody would have predicted that they would not return since.

Adam Gase was fired as Jets head coach following the conclusion of the 2020 season, the aforementioned campaign that saw them lose out on Lawrence.

Robert Saleh came in and failed to turn things round, and the team went all in on four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers which failed to work out.

It has felt like groundhog day at times for Jets fans, misery compiled by the sheer number of quarterbacks they have had in the 21st century alone.

Meanwhile, whilst the Jags had the disaster of the Urban Meyer reign, they had some brief hope under Doug Pederson before his time at the franchise came to a disappointing end.

Despite the coaching changes, they have found a way to make the playoffs unlike the Jets as the team look all but set for their second postseason appearance in four seasons.

The Trevor Lawrence factor.

Lawrence has not had a Hall of Fame trajectory career by any stretch of the imagination. It has felt like we are watching Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr 2.0 instead of the pre-draft comparisons to Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning.

His 2022 remains his best season as an NFL pro, with the current campaign being the closest to that. Otherwise, he has often struggled for consistency.

Despite this, he has played better than any Jets quarterback since he was drafted, even going further a few years before he was taken first overall in 2021.

You cannot help thinking that Lawrence would have guided the Jets to more wins than the likes of Wilson, Justin Fields, Mike White or the New Jersey version of Rodgers that we saw in 2024.

On Sunday, Lawrence showed the Jets exactly what they were missing, with a very impressing rushing touchdown. Had he been in a Jets jersey this season, then perhaps the Jets may have been at least in the playoff picture and perhaps having made the playoffs in the past five seasons.

Whilst he is not an MVP candidate or playing to the levels of Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford, there is an element of “what if” to those wins against the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns in 2020.

Andy Davies