For the third week in a row, it has been a tough outing for Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He tossed two more interceptions and completed just 64% of his passes while the one positive moment, a touchdown to D.J. Chark Jr., came early in the game.
The costliest mistake from Lawrence came on a pick-six when the coverage collapsed on a flea-flicker and he weak-armed a pass straight to Byron Murphy Jr.
Lawrence’s five touchdowns on the season are nothing to scoff at, especially considering the production of other rookies, but he needs to make better decisions with the ball moving forward.
It’s largely due to these mistakes that CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin gave Lawrence a “D+” grade for his Week 3 performance against Arizona.
Those numbers — bad on their own — don’t include two lost fumbles, which gave Lawrence four turnovers in what began as a winnable game against Arizona. It feels like every conversation regarding the No. 1 pick must be prefaced with a reminder that Jacksonville is rebuilding, and Lawrence did show some real NFL touch on his lone touchdown pass to Marvin Jones. But this Week 3 outing by itself was more concerning than promising. The Clemson product still looks pretty frantic, which is understandable but not a current winning formula.
Sporting News’ Joe Rivera was even less kind in his evaluation of Lawrence, giving the rookie a “D” grade in the loss.
It hasn’t been the best showing for the No. 1 overall pick through the first three games of his career, but the good thing is, it’s the first three games of his career.
On Sunday, Lawrence threw two more INTs, including a pick-six in the Jags’ loss to Arizona, sending Jacksonville to 0-3 on the season. At minimum, it’s good that Lawrence keeps slinging it, because there are 14 more games to go.
To be fair, Lawrence did throw a beautiful ball to DJ Chark for his lone touchdown pass on the day — it’s the kind of throw that reminds you just how good Lawrence can be. These highlights will come more consistently with time, but there’s no reason to sugarcoat that Lawrence has been not very good early on.
The common theme here is that turnovers are really limiting Lawrence’s play so far. He struggled with them a bit in college at Clemson, but that problem has been more pronounced in the NFL. Lawrence is a gunslinger, and the Jaguars have to hope that the decision-making will come around sooner rather than later, but for now, it’s really hurting Jacksonville’s chances.
ESPN’s James Jackson echoed these sentiments in his evaluation of Lawrence.
Lawrence now has seven interceptions through three games. Among No. 1 overall picks in NFL history, only Peyton Manning (eight in 1998) and Alex Smith (eight in 2005) had more.
Of course, the Jaguars’ 18-game losing streak dating to last season illustrates the team’s struggles go beyond Lawrence’s growing pains. Jacksonville’s current skid is tied with the 1972-73 Houston Oilers for the fifth-longest in league history.
The Jaguars face a short week given the team’s visit against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. It will be the first regular-season nationally televised game of Lawrence’s NFL career, prompting him to reflect on how much his schedule has changed in the pros.
“Oh, gosh, it’s completely different,” he said on Tuesday about preparing on three days rest this week.
“It’s like you don’t even know what day it is. You try to do the same things you do in a normal week. You just have to be a lot more efficient with your time.”
Lawrence, who is the first rookie with multiple interceptions in his first three games since Blake Bortles in 2014, remains confident in his progress as he continues adjusting to the NFL’s peaks and valleys.
“I haven’t played my best, but I know there’s a lot of good football ahead.”
Comparing Lawrence to Bortles, whose first few games didn’t feature nearly as many positive moments, is probably a bit unfair. But with seven interceptions through three games, that’s the kind of company Lawrence is keeping right now.
Things will almost certainly get better in Jacksonville on offense, and Lawrence is showing signs of week-to-week progress. But while this team still has many flaws, Lawrence’s play is currently one of the most glaring ones.