The Jacksonville Jaguars lost on Sunday to the Tennessee Titans 37-19 to fall to 0-5 on the season. They’ve now lost 20 straight games, the longest such streak in the NFL in nearly 50 years. This team is lower right now than nearly any other franchise has ever been, but in spite of that, there’s a reason for optimism in Jacksonville.
And that reason is Trevor Lawrence.
The rookie quarterback has certainly faced a learning curve in his first season. His completion percentage is currently below 60, and he has more interceptions than touchdowns on the season. But he’s also showed off amazing talent the likes of which this franchise has never seen at the quarterback spot, and his improvement has been steady each week.
The Jags feel like they have a stud in Lawrence. The only question becomes, can they keep him around?
According to Lawrence, he’s where he wants to be for the long haul. From the Jaguars practice area in London, he said on Friday that he’s committed to building something special in Jacksonville despite the team’s slow start.
“Regardless of what happens this season, obviously I think we’re getting there and we’re really coming along, starting to click, and I think we’re playing much better football,” Lawrence said. “But regardless of whatever happens these next 12 games, I plan on being in Jacksonville for a long time. It’s really a big picture thing, and I’m just going to keep getting better every week, and I think this team will do the same.”
It should be encouraging for Jaguars fans that Lawrence, who never lost a regular season game in college as the starter, isn’t getting too down about the slow start. While competing for the playoffs is essentially out of the question this year (though in a bad AFC South, nothing seems impossible), the Jags have plenty of opportunities to earn some wins later in the season and build up momentum for next year.
That seems to be the plan for Lawrence, who continues to progress nicely on a week-to-week basis.