Trevor Lawrence had the worst game in his brief NFL career in Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans — fitting in the wake of the Urban Meyer reports that emerged this weekend out of the Jacksonville Jaguars facility. Lawrence finished 24 of 40 for 221 yards with no touchdowns and a career-high four interceptions — as Jacksonville was shut out for the first time since 2009.
In the aftermath of the Meyer reports, Lawrence didn’t believe the news affected him nor was it a distraction. He took the Ben Roethlisberger route from earlier this week when it came toward a coach and his interactions with players.
“That’s not a part of my job to worry about that. I play football,” Lawrence said. “Guys in this locker room have done a great job of staying focused. I hate to even say that when we played like that because it doesn’t look like it, but really we’ve got a great locker room and everyone’s stayed together and stayed focused. We’re all just doing whatever we can to go try to win some games.”
The Jaguars are tied for the worst record in the AFC at 2-11, losing their lone meeting with the Houston Texans to have a better draft selection come April (Jacksonville is currently slated for the No. 2 pick in the draft). Lawrence his tied for the NFL lead with 14 interceptions — and has just one touchdown pass since the start of November.
“It’s tough. It’s growing pains. To say that’s all on Trevor (Lawrence), of course not,” Meyer said. “When you run eight times for eight yards or something like that, that’s — losing sucks. That’s all I can tell you. It eats at away at your soul. You got to regroup.
“I keep bragging about the locker room because there is a great locker room in there, guys fighting, guys that want to win. There’s no pointing fingers. I’ve seen that before. Not very often in my lifetime, but I’ve seen it. There’s none of that. But we just have to play better and go beat Houston next week.”
Lawrence has completed just 58.2% of his passes for 2,735 yards with nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions with a 68.9 passer rating. Of the 32 qualified quarterbacks, Lawrence is 30th in completion percentage and 31st in yards per attempt (5.9) and passer rating.
Even with the Meyer reports gaining full steam, that’s not affecting how Lawrence handles his business. The Jaguars rookie believes this situation will be addressed eventually.
“It’s just control what I can control,” Lawrence said. “All I can control is who I am, how I treat people, the way I respond, and just being as prepared as I can and going and playing the best I can. Today definitely wasn’t my best, but I feel I was prepared. I feel like I saw everything well, especially early in the game. And then later, like I said, got away from us.
“There’s only so much you can worry about that stuff. There will be a time and a place where that stuff is addressed. I don’t know exactly what that is or my involvement. I’m here to play ball and be the best quarterback I can and lead the team. So, I’m going to keep doing that and I think everything will work itself out.”
