Jaguars Week 1 Recap: Trevor Lawrence Ends Potential Comeback With Costly Interception

With the loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars extended their losing streak to 17 games against NFC opponents.

Looking back at the Jags week one loss to the Washington Commanders, there were both positive and negative takeaways.

Running back James Robinson looked like his old self coming off major injury, turning 11 rushing attempts into 66 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to Robinson, Christian Kirk had an impressive Jags debut, totaling 113 receiving yards on 6 catches and 12 targets, immediately establishing a rapport with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The aforementioned Lawrence had an up and down performance. He finished the day going 24-42 (57%) with 275 passing yards, one touchdown, and one game-deciding interception. Despite a less than ideal opening performance, head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor showed confidence in the young signal caller and were impressed with his playmaking ability and reminded that the development process is still ongoing.

“We’ll again, you love the aggressiveness in trying to make the play, you can’t fault a guy for doing that,” Pederson said. “But at the same time, you know, still need to understand the situation. We can coach him better in situations like that and just keep walking them through those things. It really is a team not just him, but I think as a team in general just like jumping offsides, there were three or four there at the end to ice the game. Those are all things that are coachable and correctable.”

Understanding the situation is a work in progress for  Lawrence; that much was evident when the young signal caller threw a game deciding interception on the final drive of the game. A mental mistake of that magnitude can affect a player’s confidence. Pederson made it a priority to reinforce his confidence in the quarterback.

“I just tell him we’re going to keep shooting, we’re going to keep plugging and we’re going to learn from this,” Pederson said. “He’s going to be better for it. I’m excited for him and his future. He’s a bright kid and I just told him we’re going to make these corrections and move on.”

As for Lawrence, his analysis of the final play and recognition of what he needs to work on shows a sign of maturity and accountability needed to improve.

“Really I was looking for {WR} Christian [Kirk],” Lawrence said. “We had a good spot for the route he was running. I thought that was an open zone, and then I got flushed out of the pocket and when it came out it just kind of twisted, came out terrible towards the sideline. Way short, and then obviously the guy came up and made the play. 

"In my mind, it’s 3rd and 10 at that point. So we only have two downs to get it, but thought if I had a shot at that which was probably the only shot on that play we had called. I thought it was a pretty good look, especially from the pocket. Then having to flush, kept my eyes there. I don’t necessarily think it was a bad decision, just think it was a really bad throw. I’ll go back and watch it and make sure. In that scenario you obviously don’t want that to happen. You want to at least get a shot on 4th down to keep the ball in your hands, get your best play call and have a chance to convert.”

Overall, Lawrence and company are not happy with losing a preventable game. Compared to last year, this Jags team handles losing differently and are walking into week two against the Indianapolis Colts with a chip on their shoulder.

“It’s always that same feeling,” Lawrence said. “You walk in after losing a game, you leave it all out there. Especially a tight one like that when you don’t finish, everyone’s hurting and just frustrated. You put all that work in for this one, a couple weeks even longer because it’s the opener. And to drop it there at the end that’s really frustrating. There is that deflated feeling. But then to see guys pick each other up and really just encourage each other. This is just the first one. We have a whole season, I really love the guys we’ve got in that locker room talent wise and just the people. I’m not worried at all, but we definitely have to correct some things and get better."