Did Jaguars' Star Silence the Doubters?
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, having signed a $275 million contract this offseason that ostensibly puts all the chips on him, might have needed a win more than anyone named Doug Pederson.
After the 37-34 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, Lawrence and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Pederson acknowledged that the whole team can enjoy the pressure being lifted a bit.
For Lawrence, it might be a little more.
"It's always good to use these games to build confidence. Honestly, yeah, it gives you confidence moving forward for myself and the team," Lawrence told reporters. "Even the way the game went, obviously we were in control, and then it got kind of crazy at the end. I thought it was good to continue to deal with the adversity and find a way to finish when things didn't go perfect. The end of the game didn't go perfect, but we found a way to get the ball in position and have a shot for a game-winning field goal, and [Cam Little] made it. I think that's going to make us better as a team too that it was even the first win of the season. It was tough, and it came down to the very end, and we had to earn it. All of that is going to build confidence moving forward. I think that's what this team has done a good job of. ... Obviously, last week we missed a couple of punches and had some opportunities. We knew if we kept plugging away, we'd hit some. That's just what it is. It's no special, crazy formula. It's just continuing to do your job."
Lawrence's 371 yard, two touchdown performance was one of the best of his career. Especially given the circumstances. 0-4 record, looking to avoid 0-5. His head coach's job likely on the line. His general manager, Trent Baalke, on equally thin ice.
The pressure was on the quarterback himself, too. That cannot be invalidated.
Owner Shad Khan invested more than a quarter of a billion into him. Lawrence was tagged as the franchise guy, the generational talent, the quarterback of the foreseeable future. Whether right or wrong, the blame is heaped onto Lawrence, too.
Remember, ESPN's Michael DiRocco just about sold his stock on Lawrence earlier this season because of the struggles.
"Lawrence was tagged with a 'generational prospect' label by draft analysts coming out of Clemson in 2021, but he has struggled with inconsistent play and turnovers in his first three NFL seasons," DiRocco wrote . "He's played well enough to earn a $275 million contract extension that made him one of the top-paid QBs in the league this summer, but he hasn't lived up to top-QB status on the field."
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