JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. are giving the home crowd something to celebrate.
Lawrence hit Thomas for an 85-yard touchdown strike, the second-longest scoring pass in franchise history, as the Jaguars lead the Colts 13-10 at halftime at EverBank Stadium.
It’s a special day in Jacksonville as the franchise is inducting former coach Tom Coughlin into the Pride of the Jaguars.
The big offensive play from Lawrence to Thomas was much needed for a unit that has been perhaps the league’s worst this year. The Colts, leading 7-3 at the time, pinned the Jaguars back at their own 15. Lawrence dropped back and saw Thomas with a decent cushion and hit him in stride. No Indianapolis player came close to catching Thomas, one of the fastest players at this year’s NFL combine. Thomas ran a 4.33 time in the 40-yard dash. That play was the longest passing touchdown since Blake Bortles threw a 90-yard touchdown to Allen Robinson against the Saints on Dec. 27, 2015.
Joe Flacco hit all seven of his pass attempts on the opening drive, the final one a 1-yard touchdown to Michael Pittman Jr. The Jaguars had a solid opening drive of their own but stalled out on fourth-and-2 when a Lawrence pass to Thomas was swatted away.
But defense came up big at the end of the half. Travon Walker knocked the ball from Flacco’s hands with a strip sack and Josh Hines-Allen recovered and returned it to the Colts 12. The Jaguars got a 30-yard field goal out of the that sequence.
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