Jacksonville didn’t start the Trevor Lawrence era the way the team or the fans hoped. The Jaguars lost 37-21 to a Houston team they were favored against, and Lawrence tossed three interceptions, marring a three-touchdown debut.
After the game, Lawrence said that he made too many mistakes that he needs to learn from.
“It’s definitely part of the learning process,” he said. “I’m kind of a perfectionist, so it’s frustrating just because I did some things that I don’t normally do and just threw — some bad decisions that I’m disappointed in. But, like you said, it’s part of the learning process. If you use it to learn, it’s all good. And we’ll get better. But got to get better for sure.”
Lawrence’s first interception of the game was ill-advised but understandable. He was throwing across his body while rolling to the left, which most quarterback coaches wouldn’t like to see. But it’s a throw Lawrence has the talent to make.
The other two picks were less justifiable. Lawrence just missed the defender. On the third in particular, there was no Jaguars receiver in the general vicinity of the pass.
He said that he was trying to force a ball and didn’t see the linebacker in coverage.
“Honestly, that was me just trying to do too much,” Lawrence said. “I lost the mike playing zone. They played cover two all night pretty much. Just kind of lost the mike in my sight of vision, and just kind of forced it there. And just pressed a little bit. I’ve got to take what they’re giving me. Play the slow game. Get better at that for sure.”
Lawrence never lost a regular-season game in college at Clemson, losing only twice overall. But the NFL is a different beast, and Lawrence knows he’ll need to get better moving forward.
“I know I’m going to respond well,” he said. “I’m made of the right stuff, so I don’t have any doubt about that. But it’s frustrating, and I hate losing. I hate losing. So we’re going to get better. But that’s all you can do is watch the tape, learn from it, get better, and move on. We’ve just got to stick together. That’s the main thing. That’s kind of in the past. That’s over. It is what it is. We’ve got to move on to next week and stick together. So it’s going to be good.”
Developing a rookie quarterback doesn’t happen overnight, and Lawrence was expected to make some mistakes in his debut. But if the Jaguars want to avoid another bottom-of-the-league finish and early draft pick, he’ll need to improve considerably before the end of the season.