JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Trevor Lawrence keeps receipts. He admitted that earlier this season after some harsh criticism of his development during a national television broadcast.
But just because he's keeping track of some of the negative things being said about him and the Jacksonville Jaguars doesn't mean he's taking any of it to heart. And if he's not going to let the criticism get to him, he's darn sure not going to let all the praise that's bound to come his way after Sunday's performance go to his head, either.
"I'm not thinking about any of that stuff," Lawrence said after the Jaguars' 34-14 victory over Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium. "I [couldn't] care less about what those guys say. That's really my only response to that. If those guys think I'm the best thing in the world it doesn't matter, either."
The conversation about Lawrence and the Jaguars would certainly trend more toward the latter after Sunday. Lawrence threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns -- making him the first player in franchise history to accomplish that -- and posted the fourth-best passer rating of his career (119.5).
It was the first time since he suffered a sprained left knee against Indianapolis on Oct. 15 that Lawrence wasn't limited in what he could do. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor brought back rollouts that Lawrence likes to run and had him line up under center for plays other than just short yardage.
Lawrence launched off his left leg when he dove for the pylon on his first touchdown run -- he beat Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the corner -- and threw his second touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley while scrambling to his left.
"It's definitely a little frustrating when you have things you feel like are limiting you to whatever extent that may be," said Lawrence, who still wears a brace on the left knee. "Then just from the confidence standpoint of having the confidence to move and take off and do all the things that you [normally do]. When you feel like maybe you can't do some of that, it changes how you play the game, and I think that's maybe more of the frustrating part.
"So, it felt good today to just be able to cut it loose. Obviously still try to protect myself. Took some hits that I probably didn't need to take outside of the pocket that I probably could have got down running, but it felt good just to go play and let the instincts take over when needed."
Lawrence did rush for a game-high 59 yards against New Orleans four days after hurting his knee, but that was all on scrambles. The Jaguars hadn't called designed QB runs or rollouts since Lawrence was injured against the Colts.
Receiver Christian Kirk said it was good to see the mobile Lawrence again.
"Using his legs is a big part of what he does," Kirk said. "You saw that on his two touchdowns that he was able to run it in today, too. I think a lot of it's evading and being able to get out of the pocket and throw the ball away. That's a big thing instead of having to take a sack just because you're not as mobile.
"It's good to see him moving around. Obviously he's more confident in that knee, and he'll be able to progress and keep on getting better."
This was a big bounce-back performance for Lawrence and the Jaguars (7-3) after last Sunday's 34-3 loss at home to San Francisco in which he was sacked five times, turned the ball over three times and posted the third-worst passer rating of his career (48.8). Ridley caught two touchdown passes and posted his third 100-yard receiving game of the season. The defense held the Titans to 235 yards and forced one turnover, the special teams got another (long-snapper Ross Matiscik forced and recovered a fumble), and the Jaguars won their third in a row over the Titans for the first time since 2005-06.
"We needed a win like this," said linebacker Josh Allen, one of four players to be credited with a half-sack. "When everybody does their job and they just want to go out there and perform we can beat any team in the league."
And that -- not what anybody says, good or bad -- is what Lawrence said he won't ever lose sight of.
"It's about how you perform on Sunday," he said. "It's not about what other people say, but if you want to change the narrative, then change the narrative and play better. There are things that obviously I take accountability on. My main goal is to win, though. We're sitting at 7-3. We're in a great spot. We've got to keep this energy and this attacking like we did today every week. ...
"All I care about is winning, so I don't really care what people think I can or can't do."