Trevor Lawrence Is Not Good Becomes A National Conversation, So What's Wrong?
From the prototype arm and build, to the flowing hair and chiseled chin right out of central casting, everything about Trevor Lawrence bellows this guy is an NFL franchise quarterback.
Lawrence has the look, the ability, the desire and character.
But lately, those things simply have not been good enough.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars throws the football against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 23, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Lawrence Lost Eight In A Row
Lately, the look seems to be merely a facade. The ability in the face of poor production has become a disappointment. Everything that says Lawrence should be great has been silenced by what we've seen on the field, in the stat book, and in the win-loss column.
Lawrence and the Jaguars have lost eight consecutive games dating back to last season. And it's not the first time we've seen this, because it happened in 2021 as well.
The only difference between then and now is there were plausible reasons for the problems then. Lawrence was a rookie. And Urban Meyer was his troubled head coach.
So folks understood.
But for Lawrence to match that first skid with five losses in five starts at the end of last season, and three more in a row this one is unexpected, unnerving and unacceptable.
ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars throws a pass during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 23, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Lawrence Not Good Since December
"There are going to be people like you (media) who are going to say, he's struggling because he's lost eight straight games," a former NFL head coach told OutKick on Tuesday. "That's not the problem.
"The problem is that his team has lost eight straight games, to a considerable degree, because of him. He hasn't played well going back to the first week of December. That's the real problem."
That was Week 13 of the 2023 season.
Lawrence laid another egg on national television on Monday night and suddenly a lot of pundits are looking at him sideways – because his game, his production and his results have gotten sideways.
So now there's a national conversation about the star quarterback who plays in one of the NFL's smallest markets. And there's debate whether Lawrence is anywhere close to being worth the $275 million contract he signed in the offseason.
A couple of facts:
Among the NFL's 29 quarterbacks with at least 25 starts, Lawrence has the fourth-worst win percentage at .377.
His completion percentage (63.2) is 23rd.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills meets with Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at Highmark Stadium on September 23, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Pederson And Lawrence Have Tough Talks
And his modest two TD passes this year ties him for 24th in the league – with three quarterbacks who have missed at least one game and two rookies.
So the conversations between Lawrence and Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson have become sobering.
"There's always going to be tough, difficult conversations, and that's what I appreciate about Trevor," Pederson said Tuesday. "He's willing to listen, he's willing to speak his mind and that's what it takes to work through our issues."
So what are the issues?
That's the thing. Everyone knows something is wrong, but until the Jaguars identify what those things are, there can be solution.
This subject, by the way, focuses on Lawrence. It's not his issue when a receiver drops a pass – unless he's firing a fastball at top velocity when a running back is 4 yards away, as happened on the first series Monday night.
Lawrence's issues that he must address are his. And here are some.
Breaking Down Bills Loss
Start with the fact he is sometimes not quite as instinctive in the pocket as he has been in the past.
That spin to nowhere and for no reason on Monday night was, well, strange. It looked as if he was hearing footsteps. He seemed to be feeling pressure that wasn't present.
So he makes that move, loses focus on his receivers down the field, and as he comes out of his weird spin to try to find his guys, he gets sacked.
A private coach who trains several NFL QBs in the offseason said he hasn't studied every game Lawrence has played dating back to last season, but also said he studied Lawrence's game Monday evening.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks to throw the football against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 23, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Bad Footwork And No Plan By Lawrence
The coach said the quarterback's mechanics were "messy."
"He's coming side-arm with some throws for no apparent reason," the coach said. "His base is too wide for some throws and much narrower for others and that's on downs he has time to plant and throw.
"He just doesn't look consistently comfortable. He doesn't seem to have a plan that he's certain will work. His footwork is all over the place."
All these issues together with problems the Jaguars are experiencing elsewhere lead to 0-8 dating back to last year.
And it has turned Lawrence into something of a punchline.
The Internet Is Internetting
It's gotten to the point where people are comparing Lawrence to players who are considered middling or even poor quarterbacks. And Lawrence loses by comparison.
He's being compared to struggling Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis and the two this year are comparable in completion percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt and obviously their 0-3 records.
Lawrence is also being compared to embattled Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Through their first 50 games, Jones has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio, and a higher passer rating than Lawrence.
None of that changes what Lawrence looks like before he gets on the field. But it has changed what we think he is once the games begin.