Trevor Lawrence, Anthony Richardson meet after Jaguars-Colts game

The NFL is in good hands. After the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-21 on Sunday, opposing quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Anthony Richardson showed love to one another.

While only Lawrence could walk away with a win, both players had plenty to be happy about. In the win, Lawrence boasted 241 passing yards for two touchdowns and an interception. Additionally, Lawrence grinded out 21 yards on seven carries.

Lawrence’s impressive performance is no surprise. In two seasons in Jacksonville, the former Clemson standout amassed 7,754 yards and 37 touchdowns. For his efforts, Lawrence was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season.

Although Lawrence boasts more experience than Richardson, the rookie QB put up similar statistics on Sunday. Richardson rattled off 223 passing yards in the narrow loss while adding a passing touchdown. Richardson also tossed an interception, but early bumps are expected.

Speaking of bumps, Jaguars’ defenders will have a few tomorrow morning. Richardson used his 6-foot-4 frame to run over defenders in the matchup, tallying 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Jaguars don’t underestimate Anthony Richardson

Despite Richardson’s excellent debut, the Jaguars came out on top. The outcome isn’t an accident. Speaking with the media on Wednesday ahead of their AFC South divisional matchup, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson compared Richardson to former NFL MVP Cam Newton, and theorized how Jacksonville would stop him.

“I mean, it’s tough. You think of him, you think of Cam Newton — these are big, physical, strong quarterbacks that can also throw the football. And they’re athletic.” Pederson said Wednesday, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “It is a challenge. So each quarterback who can — when you watch the tape, he can break arm tackles. And then he can run for 15, 20, 30, 40 yards and beat you with his legs.

“So, we’ve got to stay disciplined, obviously, defensively. We’ve got to be a good tackle football team against guys like this.” 

Alas, Pederson is doing everything he can to try and slow Richardson down, including watching tape from the former Florida Gators quarterback’s college days, and other quarterbacks that the Colts’ coaching staff has dealt with.

“You definitely go back and watch [college tape], just to see who he is and how [Richardson] operates,” Pederson added. “And then you go back and watch his preseason tape. And then you go back and watch some of the Philly stuff — what they did with Jalen [Hurts]. 

“Maybe you even go back and watch a little bit of Daniel Jones a little bit because some of their coaches have worked with him. And just see how these different QB runs can affect the game.”

On3’s Steve Samra also contributed to this article.