By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE – It was the sound heard around Jacksonville, and around the NFL as well.
However, the sound may have been another signal in the quarterback life of the Jags’ Trevor Lawrence.
When I did my usual stop at Wawa on the way home from Everbank Stadium, there were plenty of people talking about it. They had the same consensus opinion that Lawrence was the victim of a dirty hit by Texans’ linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who did apologize for his action Monday.
Lawrence’s hit reminded me of when then Oakland safety Jack “The Assassin” Tatum leveled Patriots’ Darry Stingley when he crossed over the middle of the field in 1978. If you remember, Stingley suffered a broken neck and he laid motionless on the ground, and he became a quadriplegic.
Ironically, it was Stingley’s grandson, Darryl Jr. , who intercepted Lawrence on a badly thrown ball in the opening quarter.
Lawrence looked rusty and didn’t have his timing in his first game back in three weeks. He completed four of 10 passes for a measly 41 yards.
Overall, this hasn’t been Lawrence’s year. Maybe, just maybe, the injuries may be starting a trend.
He has had two strong games this season, his best being a 28 for 34, 371-yard, two touchdown and one interception performance in a narrow 37-34 victory over the Colts Oct. 6.
Two weeks later, Lawrence completed 15 of 20 passes for 193 yards with a touchdown in a comeback win over the Patriots,
So far, Lawrence has completed 172 of 284 passes for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a quarterback rating of 59.9. He has had four two-touchdown games.
The stats haven’t glowing. Yet, the injuries have been there for the past two seasons.
Lawrence missed a game in 2023 because of a sprained right shoulder. He also suffered a sprained left knee in October, a sprained right ankle in early December and a concussion two weeks later.He finished 2023 with 370 completions from 654 attempts with 4,016 yards with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 56.6
The Jags were headed back to the postseason and had a good chance to win the division at 8-3 when Lawrence’s injuries were part of a late-season collapse that saw them lose five of their final six games.
Since then, the Jags have lost 15 of their last 17 games.
It seems like another decade when Lawrence rallied his team to the 2022 playoffs and that EverBank epiphany over the Chargers.
Lawrence appeared to finally reach the pegged potential as a can’t miss superstar. He threw for 4,113 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions and a passer rating of 95.2.
He gained a Pro Bowl nod and was on the track to stardom.
Now, two years later, Lawrence has been the victim of injuries, and his once-glistened plate has been tarnished.
At 2-10, the Jags’ season is basically over even though head coach Doug Pederson stated that they could make a run at their four division games left during a postgame interview.
Yes, they made a heroic comeback down 23-6 against Houston Sunday, but the Jags have forgotten to win like they did the past two years. They have lost seven games by five points or less. Let that sink in.
To bring back Lawrence at this point is useless. He likely will be ruled out of the game at Tennessee Sunday, being in concussion protocol.
At this point, the only reason to play him is to try and chalk up some possible wins against Tennessee (again), the Jets, and the Raiders to seek to make their record more pliable.
Pederson is headed for the plank, and Lawrence will have his third head coach and offensive coordinator next year.
Let’s be clear, though, this dismal Jags’s season isn’t totally Lawernce’s fault, as there is plenty of blame to go around, especially with the pass rush and the secondary.
Sit Lawrence down for the rest of the season, and let him reboot.
Maybe his new head coach and offensive coordinator can regenerate the franchise and savior quarterback we saw two years ago.
