Trevor Lawrence was sacked twice in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ season opener against the Washington Commanders and wasn’t sacked at all against the Indianapolis Colts. Staying that clean against the Los Angeles Chargers defense isn’t likely, though.
On one side, the Chargers have six-time Pro Bowler Khalil Mack who already has four sacks through two games. On the other side is four-time Pro Bowler Joey Bosa, who has 1.5 sacks.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was asked Friday how much he thinks Lawrence is going to have to deal with pressure in Week 3.
“He’ll have to play the whole game that way, honestly,” Pederson said. “It’s a good front and good edge pressure. They can pressure with their backers inside and really put guys in the lap of your quarterback, so we’ve got to be smart about it. We’ve got to understand it. Our offensive line is ready to go. They’ve had a good two days so far, and it’s going to be fun to watch them play.
The Jaguars offensive line has been off to strong start to the 2022 season. but Pederson noted Friday that unlike the last two opponents, the Chargers generate much of their pass rush from the outside.
“They have two good edge rushers in Indy, but I thought the inside guys are pretty good,” Pederson said. “This week, it’s kind of the opposite with the two outside guys, [Bosa and Mack]. … These guys do a great job because they mix their fronts up. They’ll give you five down, four down, odd, they mix it up and challenge you in many different ways.”
In Week 1, Lawrence’s stats dramatically dropped off when he was pressured. The Jaguars quarterback completed 75 percent of his passes when kept clean, but just 33 percent when the Commanders were in his face.