Lawrence, offense “playing with confidence”

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – What only the Jaguars once knew is becoming evident to all.

The Jaguars’ offense believes it is good and is showing it can be good – and if that wasn’t clear before, it became obvious at SoFi Stadium Sunday afternoon.

“Our confidence has been really high all season,” Trevor Lawrence said late Sunday afternoon.

Lawrence, the Jaguars’ second-year quarterback, spoke after a 38-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. It was a team victory, as impressive a day as this franchise has had in recent memory, and the Jaguars were particularly impressive in a dominating second half.

The defense was a storyline all day, forcing two turnovers and allowing one touchdown. But the offense perhaps defined Sunday’s second half and essentially ended the game with three efficient drives to start the second half.

“To see our offense, respond and put together three scoring drives, and our defense on the flipside to stop them all the time, it was awesome,” Lawrence said.

All three Jaguars drives to start the second half covered at least 55 yards.

All ended in touchdowns. When the second half began, the Jaguars led 16-7. When they scored after their third second-half drive, they led 38-10.

“I think it’s how we finished this game,” Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson said. “The offense went down and scored when we had to at the end, and the defense stopped them at the end. That’s something that, I think, hasn’t been the case here.”

“These guys are playing with confidence.”

The major difference between the first and half second Sunday indeed was finishing drives. The Jaguars had four red-zone possessions in the first half, with three ending in field goals by Riley Patterson and one ending in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Zay Jones.

Running back James Robinson finished the Jaguars’ first third-quarter drive – a 75-yarder – with a 50-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1. The Jaguars’ next two drives reached the red zone, with Lawrence finishing a 75-yard…