Jags QB Trevor Lawrence turns in a rare 'clean' game and could be starting a hot streak

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence has played just a handful of “clean” games in his NFL career. When he does, the Jacksonville Jaguars are tough to beat.

For the sixth time in four seasons, Lawrence finished with no sacks, no interceptions and no fumbles as Jacksonville beat New England 32-16 at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday. Lawrence improved to 5-1 in those games, with the loss coming when receiver Christian Kirk was stopped just short of the goal line on the final play in a 23-17 loss to the New York Giants in 2022.

Having so few clean games highlights Lawrence’s penchant for turnovers; he has the most since entering the league in 2021. His success rate in those games also shows that when he gets time in the pocket and doesn’t force throws, he delivers.

Lawrence completed 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots. His best throw was a perfectly placed 58-yarder to rookie Brian Thomas Jr. that set up the first of Tank Bigsby’s two rushing touchdowns.

Lawrence has thrown for 967 yards, with seven TD passes, two interceptions and no fumbles in his last four games.

“Let’s hope he’s streaky and he gets on a streak,” coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “That’s what we all hope for. I think, too, he’s continuing to grow with what we’re doing and learning. … He’s done a great job for us. If this is him getting on a streak, let’s keep it going, let’s stay with the hot hand.”

A week after safety Andre Cisco said he saw “a lot of quit” in a lopsided loss to Chicago, the Jaguars rallied from a 10-0 deficit and controlled the rest of the game. Cisco told teammates he wasn’t talking about anyone in particular and said his comments came from “raw emotion.”

Regardless, digging out of a hole had to be a step in the right direction for a team Lawrence recently called mentally fragile.

The Jaguars have allowed opponents to score a touchdown on their opening possession in five of their last six games, including against the Patriots. It was the first time all season New England found the end zone on its opening drive.

It’s a troubling trend that says a lot about Jacksonville’s shaky defense and embattled coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

Bigsby ran 26 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns — all career highs for the second-year pro from Auburn. But Pederson insists Travis Etienne has “earned the right to be out there” as the starter when he returns from a hamstring injury.

Bigsby also dropped the one pass thrown his way. His inability to contribute on passing downs remains his biggest obstacle to becoming an every-down running back.

Safety Antonio Johnson was benched against New England, his first game out of the starting lineup this season. A fifth-round draft pick in 2023 out of Texas A&M, Johnson looked like he would slide in for released veteran Rayshawn Jenkins.

But Johnson did little to impact winning in the first six games, and the Jaguars moved nickel cornerback to safety Darnell Savage in Week 7. The team will have more options in the secondary once safeties Andrew Wingard (knee) and Tashaun Gipson (suspension) return.

LT Cam Robinson is in the league’s concussion protocol. The Jaguars expect to open LB Foye Oluokun’s 21-day practice window following a four-game stint on injured reserve. Oluokun made the trip to London, so he could be close to returning from a foot injury.

6 — Number of times the Packers, the Jags' next opponent, have held Jacksonville to under 24 points in seven previous meetings. Green Bay is one of three NFL teams, along with Chicago and the Rams, that have never allowed Jacksonville to score 30 in a game.

The Jaguars return from London to face a daunting stretch against NFC teams: Green Bay (5-2), at Philadelphia (4-2), Minnesota (5-1) and at Detroit (5-1). Jacksonville has dropped 23 of its last 28 against the NFC.

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Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence waits on the snap during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) is tackled by New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby uses his cell phone after an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks for a receiver during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in London. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel's preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, a White House spokesman said Monday.

The Biden administration is still not certain if the classified information was leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. Officials don’t have any indication at this point of "additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain,” he said.

Kirby added that the Pentagon is investigating. U.S. officials on Saturday had confirmed an investigation by the administration.

“We’re deeply concerned, and the president remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it’s unacceptable when it does,” Kirby said.

The documents are attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” an intelligence alliance comprised of the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Marked top secret, the documents first appeared online Friday on the Telegram messaging app and quickly spread among Telegram channels popular with Iranians.

Analysts at the SITE Intelligence Group, a consultancy that monitors and analyzes online threats from extremist groups, tracked the release of the documents to a Telegram channel popular with Iran-backed militias. The channel contained posts from an anonymous user with a long history of posting other supposedly top-secret content who said they had access to the leaked documents. The user also wrote that they had sold some of the material and provided it to the Iranian military.

The release comes at a pivotal time in the Middle East, as Israel considers its response to Iran’s attack.

“The smallest item — even something like the leak of this relatively innocuous document — could move things in new directions,” said Rita Katz, SITE's co-founder and executive director.

The Telegram channel identifies itself as being based in Tehran, Iran’s capital. It previously published memes featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and material in support of Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Middle East militant groups armed by the Islamic Republic.

One of the two documents resembled the style of other material from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency leaked by Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman who pleaded guilty in March to leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war on Ukraine and other national security secrets.

The U.S. has urged Israel to take advantage of its elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and press for a cease-fire in Gaza and has likewise urgently cautioned Israel not to further expand military operations in the north in Lebanon and risk a wider regional war.

However, Israel’s leadership has repeatedly stressed it will not let Iran’s missile attack go unanswered.

The investigation into the release of the documents may take some time as authorities look for digital or physical clues that could reveal how the information got out, and what implications it may have for information management and intelligence sharing with U.S. allies, according to Gavin Wilde, a senior fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“I imagine they'll eventually get to the bottom of it,” said Wilde, who formerly worked on the National Security Council. “The intelligence community has gotten a lot better at digital chain of custody — who has seen a particular document, how many times it's been shared, and with whom.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday declined to comment on what changes the government has made to better safeguard top secret information in the aftermath of the Discord leak. She added that Biden has “complete confidence” in the Pentagon, Justice Department and intelligence community following the latest unauthorized disclosure.

The nation's spy agencies have worked to bolster cybersecurity since the Discord leak and the conviction of former NSA contractor Reality Winner. Accounting for human behavior, however, can be a harder challenge, according to Shawnee Delaney, a former officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency who is now CEO of the Vaillance Group, a private threat analysis firm.

“Cybersecurity isn’t just a technological issue," Delaney told The Associated Press. “It’s a human one, and humans are wholly unpredictable.”

Spokespeople for the Pentagon and the NSA said officials were aware of the incident but had no further comment.

White House: Biden 'deeply concerned' about release of documents on Israel's possible attack plans

White House: Biden 'deeply concerned' about release of documents on Israel's possible attack plans

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024. U.S. officials say the Biden administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not strike Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it looks to strike back following Iran’s missile barrage earlier this month. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, cautioned that the pledge is not iron-clad and that circumstances could change. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)