JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars may or may not ever earn respect.

What they're doing in the meantime is winning – and doing so in increasingly impressive fashion, with a quarterback playing the same way.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for career-high 5 touchdowns and ran for another as the surging, AFC South-leading Jaguars turned in yet another one-sided late-season victory – 48-20 over the New York Jets in front of 60,815 at EverBank Stadium Sunday afternoon.

"We just came to play," Lawrence said, with Head Coach Liam Coen adding, "It's fun to be around this group."

Lawrence's 5 touchdown passes were a career-high, and the Jaguars' five-game winning streak is their longest since 2023. Their 10-4 start is their best since starting 10-4 in their 2017 AFC South championship season.

"They continue to rise to these challenges that we present each week," Coen said. "You do feel like we're improving in different areas, in all three phases. Our guys have done a nice job of staying that course, working intentionally throughout the week and coming out on Sundays and putting it on tape."

Lawrence threw 3 touchdown passes to running back Travis Etienne Jr. and 1 each to running back Bhayshul Tuten and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. – finishing 20 of 32 for 330 yards and 5 touchdowns passing with 0 interceptions and a 136.7 passer rating.

"He's playing at a high level right now," Coen said of Lawrence, who has thrown 14 touchdowns in the last five games – including 9 in the last 3 games with 0 interceptions.

Lawrence led the Jaguars Sunday with 51 yards rushing and 1 touchdown on 5 carries, with the Jaguars scoring on 8 of their first 9 possessions.

"We're clicking on all cylinders," said Etienne, whose 3 receptions Sunday went for touchdowns of 20, 8 and 48 yards.

The Jaguars won for the sixth time in 7 games. They remain in first place in the AFC South, 1 game ahead of the Houston Texans (9-5) – 40-20 winners over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. The 8-5 Indianapolis Colts play Seattle at 4:25 Sunday.

The Jaguars improved to 6-2 at home this season, 6-1 in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars, who spoke throughout the week of respect and being overlooked nationally, scored touchdowns on their first 3 possessions – with Lawrence throwing 2 touchdowns and running for a third. They led 14-7 after a quarter and 31-10 at halftime.

They have won 4 of their last 5 games by 17 or more points.

"Everybody's peaking at the right time," Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker said. "Guys are getting healthy and everybody's showing their true potential. We have to keep building on it."

The Jaguars retained the No. 3 seed in the AFC and will play the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos in Denver Sunday.

"We know the challenge that we have going out west this week against a very high-quality opponent," Coen said. "There's still so much room to continue to grow as a team and as you get into December, playing your best football is very important. We have another opportunity to go do that this Sunday."

Jets quarterback Brady Cook completed 22 of 33 passes for 176 yards and 1 touchdown with 3 interceptions, with the Jaguars registering 3 sacks – 1 each by defensive ends B.J. Green and Dennis Gardeck and safety Eric Murray.

Cornerback Montaric Brown set up a touchdown late in the first half with an interception and linebacker Ventrell Miller intercepted Cook in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Safety Antonio Johnson had a late fourth-quarter interception.

"There's always room for improvement but as long as we keep getting better week in and week out, that's all you can ask for," Walker said.

2025 Week 15, Step by step:

• Thomas' 4-yard reception capped a 9-play, 72-yard drive on the game's opening possession and gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with 10:18 remaining in the first quarter; Lawrence completed 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards on the drive. Lawrence's 15-yard scramble on third-and-13 capped a 5-play, 38-yard drive and gave the Jaguars a 14-0 lead with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter; defensive end Travon Walker stopped running back Breece Hall for a 6-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Jets 44 to set up the drive. Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell caught a 9-yard pass from Cook to cap an 8-play, 65-yard drive and cut the lead to 14-7 with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.
• Tuten's 16-yard reception from Lawrence capped a 5-play, 55-yard drive and pushed the lead to 21-7 with 14:14 remaining in the second quarter; Lawrence's 19-yard pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers keyed the drive and gave the Jaguars a first down at the Jets 32. Jets kicker Nick Folk's 41-yard field goal cut the lead to 21-10 with 5:12 remaining in the second quarter and Jaguars kicker Cam Little's 33-yard field goal capped the ensuing drive and extended the lead to 24-10 with 1:37 remaining in the half. The Jaguars increased the lead on the next possession, with Lawrence passing 20 yards to Etienne Jr. with :21 remaining in the first half for a 31-10 lead; Brown intercepted Cook at the Jets 47 to start the drive.
• Folk's 51-yard field goal capped a 9-play, 32-yard drive on the second half's opening possession and cut the lead to 31-13. Lawrence capped a 7-play, 72-yard drive on the ensuing possession with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Etienne to push the lead to 38-13. Little's 22-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter made it 41-13.
• Jets running back Isaiah Davis' 24-yard run cut the lead to 41-20 with 14:08 remaining, with Lawrence's 45-yard touchdown pass to Etienne pushing the lead to 48-20 with 13:40 remaining.

Notable: Jaguars touchdowns on their first three possessions marked their first time accomplishing the feat since a 45-19 victory at Baltimore on November 1, 1998. … Wide receiver Parker Washington returned for the Jaguars Sunday after missing a Week 14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts; Jaguars inactives Sunday: left tackle Walker Little, tight end Hunter Long, defensive tackle Austin Johnson, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and linebacker Yasir Abdullah.

Jaguars injury report: Defensive end Danny Striggow sustained a second-quarter ankle injury and returned before being ruled out for the rest of the game at halftime. Tuten sustained a third-quarter finger injury and did not return.