The Jacksonville Jaguars are 6-3 and well-positioned to make a return to the playoffs. A blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week cast some doubt on their ability to make a push come the postseason and a lot of it has to do with the health of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence has been dealing with a knee injury for several weeks and the off time during Week 9 was supposed to help. It didn’t seem to do that as Lawrence struggled mightily against the Niners, tossing multiple interceptions in a game for the first time this season.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said that Lawrence's ailment is impacting Jacksonville's offense.
“Sure, one of the things that we haven't been able to do because of Trevor's condition with his knee is just move him a little bit more,” Pederson said, via Nick Shook. “Sometimes, you can create things off of that. He's been limited that way.
“Play-action pass can be an opportunity to shoot the ball down the field on first or second down, the screen game you've seen hit a little bit. Those are ways to create some explosives. Sometimes, just drop back and throw it. Just run past and use your speed on the perimeter. Try to take advantage of that while you're seeing teams do it in different ways.”
Jags still finding their groove
The Jaguars were expected to have one of the best offenses in the league this year with Lawrence sticking around in the MVP conversation for most of the season. Though Jacksonville leads the AFC South, its offense and Lawrence have not played up to par, which could be a good sign for the rest of the Jags season.
Lawrence ranks 18th in passer rating and 17th in passing yards per game. He has passing touchdowns in all but two games, both Jaguars losses. It may not be all coincidental that he had perhaps his worst game of the season as he tries to navigate playing with an injury.
A less than 100 percent Trevor Lawrence is still better than the other options the Jaguars have at their disposal at quarterback. Going 4-4 the rest of the way will put the Jaguars at 10 wins which should be enough to win a second consecutive division title.
That gives Lawrence eight games to get his body right or at the very least figure out how to play better with the injury. It is not far-fetched to say that the Jaguars can win the Super Bowl, but if they play like they did against the 49ers there's no chance they contend for a title.
Trevor Lawrence is certainly not the only starting QB in the NFL playing through an injury so simply suiting up is not enough. He has to get back to the MVP level people think he can get to. The next two months will be crucial for the Jags.
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