Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a terrible, mistake-filled night Sunday in a 23-7 home loss to the Ravens that dropped Jacksonville into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South.
And to make matters worse, it’s possible Lawrence could be sidelined for a pivotal Week 16 matchup.
Lawrence landed in concussion protocol following the game, according to Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson.
Pederson believes the potential injury happened on the final drive, and the former No. 1 pick could now potentially miss Jacksonville’s road game at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
It’s hard to tell when Lawrence suffered the injury, but he had three separate runs on Jacksonville’s final drive.
Lawrence finished the game but was evaluated afterward.
The 24-year-old quarterback had a rough outing Sunday against one of the NFL’s top defenses, losing a fumble — without being touched — in the red zone in the second quarter, and costing his team points with poor clock management at the end of the first half.
He completed 25 of 43 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown, numbers that don’t tell the whole story of another underwhelming game.
While the un-forced fumble was bad enough, Lawrence’s mental mistake at the end of the first half is the type of play a No. 1 pick should not be making.
With no timeouts and 11 seconds remaining in the half, Lawrence threw short of the end zone to Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington near the numbers.
Washington tried to get out of bounds but failed, and time ran out in the half with Baltimore ahead, 10-0.
“We’re going to stay aggressive,” said Pederson, who added the plan was always to go for a touchdown. “We’ve scored before in those situations. It was just a mistake I think by Trevor, obviously knowing the situation and knowing how much time is left right there. It’s a great learning experience for us from the standpoint of don’t throw it inbounds to be tackled in that situation.”
Pederson added the blame didn’t just fall on the quarterback in that situation.
“You can put it on us, too, put it on us as coaches. Coach that situation a little bit better,” he said.
The Jaguars and Lawrence are reeling at the wrong time and it could cost them the division — and potentially a playoff spot.
Sunday marked their third straight loss, all to AFC playoff contenders, and their second home loss in that stretch.
The Jaguars are now tied with the Colts and Texans with an 8-6 record.
Although Lawrence has underwhelmed this year, it will be a big blow for Jacksonville if he can’t play against a Tampa Bay team that currently is leading – via tiebreakers – the NFC South.
The Buccaneers are 1.5-point favorites at FanDuel as of Monday morning.
Lawrence, since being selected by Jacksonville with the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has started every game, including Dec. 10 against the Browns, after spraining his knee six days before.
CJ Beathard would likely start in Lawrence’s play should he miss the game.
