Trevor Lawrence with perfect execution on the seam route for six

Jacksonville got into the end zone on this well-executed play from Trevor Lawrence.

To the dismay of perhaps many Elminator Pool participants — including my parents after I talked them into taking Jacksonville yesterday — the Houston Texans raced out to an early 14-0 lead over the visiting Jaguars.

Thanks to good design and perfect execution from rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars are finally on the board and the new QB has his first NFL touchdown pass.

Facing a 2nd-and-7 the Jaguars lined up with a 12 personnel look, emptying the formation and putting both tight ends on the left side. The route concept? A variation of the Hoss concept. Tight end Chris Manhertz runs a seam route on the left side while the slot receiver on the right does the same. Running back James Robinson, flexed out to the boundary, runs a hitch on the left while the outside receiver on the right runs the same route.

Pre-snap, Lawrence sees that a cornerback is aligned over Robinson. That lets him know that the Texans are in zone coverage for this play. Houston drops into a Cover-3 look, and Lawrence’s job is this: Move the free safety to one seam route and throw to the other.

Which is exactly what he does:

Lawrence flashes his eyes to the safety in the middle of the field, freezing him in place, before hitting Manhertz in stride for the touchdown. Former NFL defensive back Adam Archuleta, in the booth, broke down how this play came together, the bind it put the secondary in, and how the Texans failed to have an underneath defender carry the vertical route from the tight end and constrict the throwing lane:

The Jaguars are now back in the game, and Eliminator Pool participants worldwide are breathing a sigh of relief.